


Through Whose Eyes

by Soundone



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Soen no Kiseki/Akatsuki no Megami | Fire Emblem Path of Radiance/Radiant Dawn
Genre: Adventure, F/F, Friendship/Love, Hurt/Comfort, Lore - Freeform, Mild Blood, Romance, Self-Acceptance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-28
Updated: 2015-03-12
Packaged: 2018-02-15 03:49:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 90,163
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2214684
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Soundone/pseuds/Soundone
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The goddess has not been kind to Vika. Painful memories from her troubled past constantly resurface and tear at her mind. Yet, on one faithful evening, she has a chance encounter with the beautiful wolf queen, Nailah, and she soon finds a brave new world through the comfort and hand of the mysterious queen of Hatari.</p><p>Fluffy and feathery romance and a not-so-short story about Nailah's and her escorts' journey to and in Gallia.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Radiant Dusk

**Author's Note:**

> Terminology 
> 
> Laguz: Humanoid morphs which can assume an animal form to fight with. They have abnormally long life spans. Despised by most beorc as mindless savages.
> 
> Beorc: Normal human bipedals that fight using forged weapons and magic. Are the more technologically advanced race between the two. Despised by most laguz as racist bigots.
> 
> Tellius: Continent playing home to the beorc and laguz and where this story takes place. Many wars have spanned this land's history between the two races, a product of their never-ending hatred for one another.
> 
> Ashera: Goddess and creator of the continent of Tellius. Worshipped as a kind an benevolent ruler who guides her children on the path of salvation. 
> 
> Hatari: A mysterious land far beyond Tellius's boarders, only recently learned about. Its only known inhabitants are the wolf queen, Nailah and her loyal vessel, Volug. It is said to be a prosperous place where the beorc and laguz live in peace with each other.
> 
>  

-

_The marble floor was cold and unforgiving as the bruised woman crashed upon it, the bitter taste of copper filling her mouth as shaking hands clutched her stricken jaw. A pair of tear-filled eyes just barely made out the portly form of the beorc whom dealt the blow._

_''You worthless sub-human!'' the man bellowed, eyes savage. ''I told your filthy hide that I wanted this house clean by half a day's mark, no more!'' a statement further emphasized by a foot to her chest._

_''You sleep in the horse's pen tonight, wrench. No supper. But before that, I clearly need to teach you a lesson in servitude.'' She then felt the man roughly grip her collar and begin to drag her beaten body across the floor._

_''No! Please no, not again!''_

-

''NO!'' 

Vika awoke in a fierce sweat, her eyes wide and her breathing rampant. She searched her surroundings in a panic, only to find herself in a tranquil meadow with the moon high in the sky, far, far away from that accursed place.

Bitter tears returned to her eyes as she felt her body crumple under the moonlight.

''Damn it!'' the raven laguz muttered. ''I let it get to me again...'' 

Vika leaned back into the wooden embrace of the tree she was sheltered under and gazed at the fragmented sky, partially blocked by branches of swaying leaves.

It had been six years ago. Six, long years ever since she escaped from slavery and the torment of her masters. She should have been done with the pain, forgotten the wounds, both physical and mental, that festered in her every day she had to spend in that hellhole, every night she cowered in fear alone on a uncaring stone ground. But every once in a while, she would awake with the memories of abuse and humiliation fresh in her mind and tears streaming down her face. 

But damn if her feelings and past mattered. She was now fighting in some idiotic human war, bleeding for a country who not only condoned the slavery of her people, but hunted them like cattle. Her eyes began to darken as anger and doubt clouded her mind.

''What the hell is the boss and Muarim thinking? What am I thinking?! I shouldn't have to grovel to those bastards again!''

Vika felt her blood boil and her wings flare. She lunched towards the air.

''Damn it Ashera! What kind of shitty world did you put me in?!'' the raven vented at the sky. ''I've suffered for years to those dogs, bent to their every selfish desire, bit my tongue at every strike, and now you expect me to lick their boots again?! Damn it all, take me away goddess!'' she desperately bellowed, fists balled and eyes fierce. ''Take me to a world where I can forget these tears and live free!''

Yet if Ashera was indeed listening to her plea, she expressed nothing. The stars still twinkled silently and the fireflies continued their dance across the night sky. Her body slowly began to relax in defeat.

''Hmph. Something on your mind bird?'' a deep, gnarling voice echoed.

Vika worries quickly buried themselves once again, replaced with the possibility of an enemy attack, as she whirled around in a panic, her body already beginning to compress into the form of a crow.

''Peace friend. I mean no ill intent.'' the voice growled. As she faced her guest, Vika's beady eyes soon found their way to the source of the voice; a pure-white wolf, her coat shining radiantly in the glow of the moon as alabaster fur gently swayed in the wind.

However, as soon as the wolf appeared, it began to disappear, the new laguz gradually assuming a more humanoid form. 

Sharp claws began to form slender fingers and the beautiful white coat was quickly replaced with a wild shade of brown, which reminded her of the endless sands of the Grann Desert. As the transformation came to an end, Vika was greeted with the sight of a beautiful woman, her purple hair pleasantly nostalgic of the white wolf's coat and long, exotic flaps of fabric concealing her left eye.

Nailah. That was the name of the wolf queen she had heard whispers about around camp. She was supposed to be a ruler of an unknown kingdom, hailing from a land far across The Desert of Death. If she was the same wolf she had seen glimpses of swiftly ripping and tearing apart humans at Shifu Swamp, then Vika couldn't let her guard down for a second. 

A silky voice laughed as Nailah saw Vika tense. ''Was I not clear before? We are allies. Besides, no Begnion soldier could look half this good.'' the wolf queen finished with a grin.

Vika almost looked around for a third party. The wolf who was just moments in front of her had such a rough, menacing voice that commanded fear and power, whereas the person currently before her, spoke with a melody which flowed like the desert breeze and invigorated like a heron's galdr. 

''I-I...you-!...'' Vika stuttered, momentarily dazed by the beauty. ''H-How much did you hear?''

Nailah slyly hummed at the panicked display. ''Enough to know that humans are at the bottom of your Irakih Day gift list.'' 

''Err, excuse me?'' the raven questioned, unfamiliar with Hatarian customs.

''Ah, never mind that.'' the queen finished off with an embarrassed wave. ''Anyway, you look like a bird with two stones aimed at it. You need a laguz-to-laguz pep talk?'' the queen offered, an inviting smile illuminated by the moonlight.

Vika began to sink back into the tree, quickly turning her back to the wolf queen's invitation. If word got around that she harboured less than ideal impressions of humans, the soldiers would likely be all too happy to hurl a couple stones her way. Or worse, she might find some shady drugs floating around in her soup, courtesy of a certain balding mad-man. 

''It's none of your concern. My baggage belongs hidden in the back of my mind, not on the tongue of petty gossipers. You should see your way out of it.'' the raven retorted, words bitter on her tongue.

Wait.

''Y-Your M-Majesty.'' Vika hot-facedly added as she remembered just who she was talking too.

Silence soon filled the meadow. The soft rustling of leaves and sounds of the cool summer breeze began to fill the air left in wake of Vika hostile statement. Her feathers quickly began to rustle in realization as the impact of her words began to sink in.

'W-What the hell was I thinking?! Did I really just blow off the Wolf Queen of Hatari?! That same queen that tore through those soldiers like tissue paper? That can turn your body to stone at a glance? Goddess Vika, you screwed up!'

As Vika was preoccupied with thinking of escape plans, she failed to hear the soft crunching of grass, crisp sounds of a certain woman walking directly towards her. Nailah suddenly plopped down on the ground right next to Vika, with a long sigh and all the grace of a wyvern. 

''WAHH!'' Vika shrieked. ''Sorry! I'm so, so sorry your highness! Please don't kill m-''

''Did you know that Hatari had its share of slavery problems too?'' the wolf queen plainly interrupted, her one good eye fixated on the moon.

''W-Wha-''

The Hatarian didn't let Vika get a word in and slipped into a comfortable position. ''While it may seem strange to you, it was actually laguz who were the slave masters in this fiasco. It was in one of the more lawless districts, a province in the outer reaches of my kingdom. While my rule was still law there, many thought that their relative isolation from the capital and my army was enough for them to establish their own policies outside my sight.'' A dark look passed her good eye and Vika could swear she saw the fabric covering the wolf queen's evil eye become rigid in fear. 

''Nothing can escape my eyes.'' the queen declared with a dead certainty. ''As soon as my subjects brought the issue to my attention, I set out for the capital of the province where the landlord resided to get some answers. The man was wolf laguz like me and Volug, only much more repulsive and unsightly. I always knew those rumours I heard of him were true. Give him an inch, and the bastard would take a mile, or province as I found out.'' she said with a sneer.

''After some...negotiating with the lord's very defensive guards, I soon found my way to the lord's basement. There, in that filthy prison, I saw a sight I never thought would have ever existed in my kingdom. Dozens of slaves, both laguz and beorc, all hoarded away like cattle and crammed into a tiny room, by the landlord in anticipation of my arrival no doubt. Their clothes were in tatters, their figures suggested that they had barely gotten any food, and their eyes...'' the queen seemed visible shaken as Vika listened in morbid curiosity. 

''Their eyes reflected nothing. No joy, no pain, no hope. Just dead, lifeless orbs derived of a soul to express.'' Vika saw the queen's eye soften. ''This one little beorc girl stood out the most to me. She was wearing little more than a pillow case for clothing and had brutal scars more fitting for a battle-hardened war veteran than a ten year old girl. She just stared at me with those haunting eyes, not knowing if I was friend or foe. What she must have gone through I cannot even begin to imagine.'' 

Vika's own eyes twisted in confusion as she fidgeted in the meadow air. Why was she telling her this? Was she trying to tell her that her problems were dime a dozen? Or was she trying to make her feel bad to get her back for the earlier little spat. The story had Vika intrigued enough to hold her tongue.

''I don't need to tell you that justice was swift. Everyone involved in maintaining the slave ring was jailed, exiled, or worse. The province was put under jurisdiction of one of my more trusted advisors and all the slaves were freed and sent back to their families. In the midst of the reform, I found out that the little girl I saw that day had no family to return to, nobody to help her recover from her ordeal. So, instead of throwing her in some second-rate orphanage, I decided to take her back to the capital with me. Heh.'' Nalilah began to smile nostalgically. ''Once she had a good bath and got some nicer clothes, she was quite the cutie! Tiny, delicate hands and scruffy black hair, a lot like yours actually bird!'' the wolf laughed as she absent-mindedly played with a lock of Vika's hair, inciting a fierce blush from the raven.

''She was mistrusting of me at first, obviously. In fact, for the first few weeks, she barely interacted with anyone at all. Hell, even Volug's puppy-dog routine couldn't get a rise out of her. Then, one day I caught her watching some of my paladins performing training exercises. It was the first time she showed an interest in anything within the imperial castle and I could see a small fire trying to melt the clouded exterior of her haunted eyes. She was looking at their mounts with a longing, as if pretending she was in the saddle herself. So, I went up to her, assumed my wolf form and motioned her to get on. She was apprehensive at first, but you can only resist the beautiful queen of Hatari for so long, and she eventually plopped herself on my back.''

A full grin formed on Nailah's face. ''Ha. Barely gave her enough time to grab on before I leapt off, bolting around soldiers and jumping over fences.''

''You danced around armed soldiers with a child on your back?'' Vika blanched. 

''You make it sound dangerous.’’ Nailah mused. ‘’Oh, she was terrified at first, but she quickly calmed down and began to handle me like she saw the paladins handle their mounts.'' 

Nailah's eye softened. ''When I looked up at her from my back, I saw something that made every hardship in getting her to the capital worth it. She was laughing, laughing like she didn't have a care in the world. And her eyes... they danced with joy, happiness, hope, everything I wanted to see reflected the day I first saw her in that basement. It was a great feeling.'' a proud smile graced the queen's face. 

''So that was the day the Hatari Royal Paladins, the Imperial Ox Laguz Platoon, and the 11th Desert Mage Squadron watched a little girl ride their beloved and powerful queen around like a saddle-less horse.'' Nailah finished with a hearty laugh.

Vika could help but to chuckle at this mental image. ''After that, she really began to open up. She told me her name, Tania, the only gift her parents left her before abandoning her at the orphanage. I listened to the struggles she faced as a slave and helped her deal with them. We played with each other, learned to laugh together, and I watched her grow up to be a fine young woman. Before I left on my journey, Tania was a recruit in the army, training to become part of the Hatari Royal Paladins. Heh, she came a long way from the basement in that goddess-forsaken hell-hole.'' Nailah began to relax into the tree, a content smile on her face. She then suddenly bolted up and quickly faced Vika.

''Sorry! I went on bit of a tangent there didn't I, bird?'' she said with a wide smile. ''Point is, if you don't come to peace with your troubled past, then you'll be stuck in that basement all your life.'' Nailah took Vika’s silky hands into her own and gave her a look that rivalled the goddess in radiance, purple hair flowing against the wind.

''Let me help you friend. Let me put your mind and past at rest. Let me make you smile so bright, such that sun itself would envy you.''

''I-I...'' the raven stammered breathlessly as her face begin to heat once again. The Hatarian’s eye shone lustrously as the stars above, filling Vika with a sensation she had never felt before. She gulped. 

Vika had never told a soul what happened behind those closed doors. Muarim and Tormod knew that she had been a slave before joining them, but they never got Vika to spill the details, those horrible, painful details of her hardships during those years. Yet, as Vika listened to the wolf queen's story, she heard the sincerity behind the queen's words, understood just how much the proud wolf wanted to see her subjects and comrades happy. Vika felt as though she could trust her with anything, felt as though she, like that little human, could too be saved by this desert beauty.

And so, Vika told Nailah everything. She told her how hunters had taken her from her pedlar parents at an early age. She told her what is was like to be thrown into a brutal life of servitude. She recounted each scar her master had given her and every mundane reason behind them. She told her how it felt to cry yourself to sleep on a cold, filthy floor with an empty stomach. Through each painful memory, Nailah quietly listened, simply looking on with an attentive face, her hand never moving from the spot on Vika's shoulder.

''And...and that's it. That's what it was like to live a slave. What I thought would be my life until the day the goddess took me.''

Vika fidgeted on the rustling grass and breathed in the cool night air. She thought that she would feel shameful and depressed after reliving those memories again. Yet, she strangely felt alive and refreshed, like the burden had been erased from her conscious. Nailah, who had been silently observing for the last little while, swung onto her feet and, with one hand, scooped Vika up with her, much to the raven bewilderment. A brilliant smile adorned the wolf queen’s face. 

''And yet, you created a new life to live. You beat your demons and became a source of hope for laguz tortured by slavers, beorc oppressed by the corrupt. What happened in the past made you stronger, so don't let those memories weight you down. Instead, let them serve as testament to the trials you overcame and something to motive you to never let that happen to anyone else again. You are a great person, raven. Don't think that this world can beat you.''

A small shudder escaped Vika as Nailah finished her speech. Vika felt warm. Warm, so breath-takingly warm that she thought the sun itself had been moved inside of her chest. The queen was right. She couldn't give a damn about the past right now, not when there were laguz out there which didn't enjoy the freedom she had now. She had beaten her torturers, and now she had to show to the laguz in suffering, the Begnion occupation force, to all of Tellius, that the wind in-between her feathers, the gold inside her purse, and the sunlight upon her skin was hers and hers alone, and that no laguz can be contained forever. 

Vika felt so content, so fulfilled, so happy. She had a purpose now. A purpose she was proud to fight for. She couldn’t believe how much the queen’s words had meant to her, how invigorating those words felt. She glanced up at the Hatarian, who had been patiently observing her face for the past minute. 

Vika did the only sensibly thing in this situation and ran straight into the wolf queen's arms, much to Nailah's surprise and amusement. She soon felt said arms welcome her into that embrace.

''Vika.'' the raven said.

''What was that?''

''My name is Vika. And thank you your majest- no, thank you Nailah. Just thank you so much.'' she happily whispered, breathing in the sweet smell of the wolf queen's luscious curls.

Serenity graced the Hatarian's face.

''Mmhmm. Your very welcome...Vika.'' Nailah soothed as she stroked the raven's hair.

They stood together in their embrace in the meadow for a blissful moment, with the evening wind in their hair and the fireflies celebrating the spectacle through dance. Vika felt like she could stay in the desert beauty's arms forever. 

However, Vika's wishes would once again be unanswered by the goddess, as she suddenly felt Nailah break the embrace and press her face dangerously close to Vika's own, her one eye staring at her with an odd intensity.

''U-Umm... Is something wrong your majesty?'' she nervously said as she felt even Nailah's evil eye silently judge her from behind its satin curtains.

The wolf queen continued to solemnly examine her face for what felt like an eternity before suddenly adopting a quirky smile.

''Nope, not good enough.'' Nailah said, a comically unimpressed expression adorning her features.

''W-What do you mean?''

The wolf queen smirked and slowly began to trace the edges of Vika's mouth.

''Your smile. It's not big enough.'' she said innocently.

Vika quickly went into mild hysterics as she felt the Hatarian's rough, calloused fingertips glide over her lips.

''W-W-Wait! Wha-W-Wha are you-''

''OH! I know!'' Nailah loudly interrupted. 

A blinding light lit up the peaceful meadow, accompanied by a majestical howl. When Vika could see again, she saw that Nailah had shifted into her wolf from and was motioning towards her furry back.

''Get on.'' the Hatarian deadpanned.

Vika did a double-take. 

''W-What?! Y-You can't honestly expect me to ride you like that girl did!'' The prospect that someone would find her riding around on the back of the sovereign from the first outside country Tellius has had contact with since the Great Flood, made her wings flare out in embarrassment. 

''I-I mean, I'm a grown woman! I couldn't possibly enjoy such a thing!''

''...''

''P-P-Plus I'm much larger than a ten year old girl! I-I couldn't possibly fit on your back without our limbs getting t-tangled together!''

''...''

''T-Think of y-your position queen Nailah!'' her voice beginning to hitch. ''What would your vassals say if they saw-''

''...''

''...i-if they saw-''

''...''

''.......Fine.''

''HAHA!'' the wolf howled in triumph. ''I always get my way, bird!'' Vika could swear she saw the jagged bear-trap that the wolf called a mouth, form into a cocky smile.

''Y-Yeah yeah, lets just get this over with before anyone sees us.'' the raven mumbled, a bright blush adorning her face.

Vika very slowly, and very awkwardly, mounted the white wolf. She felt like a horse trying to mount a wyvern. The raven's arms hung loosely from both sides of Nailah, her long legs uncomfortably circled the wolf's left hind leg, and her black wings swayed slanted in the air.

''Umm, just where am I supposed to grab on, your majes-''

Vika's last syllable was forever lost to the wind as Nailah suddenly rushed across the field at breakneck speeds, the soft song of crickets quickly overshadowed by a raven's horrified screams.

Just as with Hatarian child before her, Nailah spared no time for safety measures, leading Vika to initially flail her arms around in a wild panic before tightly hugging the wolf's torso for dear life.

Oblivious to the raven's cries and pleas, the wolf queen proceeded to savagely dance about the meadow, jumping off stones and speeding through creeks with the excitement and vigour of a child on their birthday.

'I'm gonna die. I'm gonna die. Goddess, why have you forsaken me?' Vika internally cried, her eyes shut tight and body locked in a death grip around her captor.

She felt the once soft evening breeze, blow past her with an icy intensity. Creek water splashed onto her skin, eliciting goosebumps. Tears started to fall from her eyes as her eyelids begged for relief. The desert queen had morphed the once peaceful valley into a raven torture device and Vika wanted off. She could hear Nailah's excited pants, occasionally rising to a howl when they jumped about. Of course she was enjoying her suffering. This was probably how all Hatari royals got their sick kicks.

Vika abruptly felt the wolf buckle as Nailah's breathing became more ragged. As she agonizingly forced an eye open, she saw that Nailah was now racing up a grassy incline, an incline, which she remembered from her view on top of the tree, that ended in a very steep drop, a drop they were now mere meters away from reaching. Ice began to fill her veins.

''N-Nailah!'' the raven squawked, eyes pleading for mercy. ''P-Please, you’re gonna kill us!!'' 

The wolf queen simply flashed her a cocky grin and continued to pick up speed.

Vika said her prayers to the goddess. She apologized to the boss and Muarim, who in the morning would find her mangled body at the bottom of this cliff. She apologized to Micaiah, who would arrive in the desert with no one to greet her. She apologized to Volug, who would have the shame of returning to Hatari to tell his country that their beloved queen had died, not in fierce combat, but frolicking off a cliff.

And as Vika sent her last prayer, she saw the ground disappear from beneath their feet as the wolf overcame the last meter. Wait, no, there was the ground. It was just at the bottom of a massive cliff face, separated by a drop a castle wall in length, a drop that would take no prisoners. A whimper escaped her mouth as she made one last act of defiance.

''NAILAAAAAAAH!'' the raven shrieked as they fell, wind whipping past fur and feathers.

Much sooner and much less painful than she expected, however, Vika felt them come to a sudden stop, the light smell of wood invading her senses. As she grudgingly forced her eyes opens, she found that they were no longer a couple leagues above the air, nor a splat on the ground, but picturesquely perched in the branches of a willow tree. In the time that it took for Vika to figure out that Nailah had managed to jump her way onto a tree instead committing murder-suicide, the wolf in question had already began to continue her run, jumping from branch to branch, tree to tree, all the while laughing hysterically in her grisly voice. Vika's fear quickly dissipated into murderous fury.

''Y-You! You almost got me killed! Damn it your majesty, if the fall didn't do me in, a heart attack would have been just as likely!'' the raven fumed, her eyes threatening to burn a hole through the Hatarian's head.

''Haha, ha, ha hahaha! You-you, 'P-P-Please, we're-we're gonna die!' Haha- 'NA-NAILAAHAHAHA!'' The strain of running and her manic guffawing had taken a grave toll on the queen's speech. ''Ha-Ha, a-a-and your face! Haha, oh Naga that look wasn't the one I was going for but I'll take it!''

A shameful blush rose to Vika's cheeks, complementing her seething features. Suddenly, Vika didn't care that this was the wolf queen of Hatari. She didn't care that she could tear Vika to bits if she wanted to. All the raven cared about right now was restoring her mangled pride that had taken the fall in Vika's place and getting pure, sweet revenge.

Just as Nailah was about to jump to another tree, Vika shifted her hips and pushed their bodies skywards as her wings let out an powerful, adrenaline-fuelled flap, causing the two to be propelled into the open air. Vika continued to flap her wings, steadily flying into the moonlight. As Vika carried the wolf through the valley sky, the raven took great satisfaction in hearing Nailah's mocking laughter morph into horrified whimpering.

''H-H-H-Hey! W-What are y-you doing bird?! T-Take us back to the ground r-right now!'' Vika could feel the wolf queen's pride pour out of her body as the terrified wolf peered down into the meadow far, far below.

''Oh yeah, not risking our lives would be a pretty solid plan. Maybe you should have done it earlier.'' Vika cheerfully mocked, a wide smirk on her face. '' 'Sides, the view up here is pretty nice don'tcha think? We can see the camp from up here!''

''I-I-I'm w-warning you bird! I-I-I-I'll k-kill you d-damn it!'' Any intimidation Nailah's threats once had, was quickly shot down by her skittish voice.

''Hoho, is the big, bad, wolf queen afraid of heights? Too bad, cause that scare you gave me made my arms pretty sweaty. I wouldn't be surprised if you were to just slip _riiiiiiiiiight_ through my arms.'' Vika further teased the wolf by purposely loosening her grip on Nailah, causing the wolf to fling into hysterics.

''Nooooooo! D-Don't drop me Vika! Please! AHHHHHH!''

The wolf suddenly started to shine bright white as Nailah, in a panic, began to change back into her humanoid state. The light momentarily blinded Vika, causing her to loosen her grip even more. That provoked a frenzied response from Nailah, the queen madly flailing her limbs about, her hands clutching onto anything they could find. One of these things happened to be Vika's wings, disrupting the raven's flying and causing the two to plummet into the meadow below.

Vika, who had just taken a swing to the head from a raging laguz royal, was falling casually through the moonlit sky, her head in a daze from the hit. It took a considerable amount of time to realize that somebody was clinging onto her body for dear life, faintly, or what Vika thought was faintly, pleading to the raven. She then became aware of Nailah locked in a bear hug around Vika's stomach, her eyes wet with what appeared to be tears. 

''VIKAAAAAAA! FLY DAMN IT! I'M SORRRRRRRRY!''

Vika blinked. If they weren't falling to their deaths, Vika would have been smitten by the sight, the proud, savage, Mistress of the Evil Eye mewing into her arms, snot dribbling out her nose. Oh, right. They were falling to their deaths. 

Vika tightened her hands around the sobbing woman and desperately flapped her wings in order to gain back balance. The speed at which they were falling was, however, too fast and Vika could only steer the direction which they fell. Out of the corner of her eye, Vika spotted a large pond and decided that hitting the water would be preferable to the hard ground. With one last flap of her wings, Vika dived straight towards to water, momentarily finding her and Nailah encased in cold, dark, liquid.

The water was frigid and uninviting. Vika tried to swim, but her limbs were too drained from her earlier antics, thus merely let the water drag her down into the darkness. But, before the lake could claim her, she felt a hand grab her by her shirt and begin pulling her body to towards the surface. As she hit the welcoming surface of dry land and took a rich breath of air, Vika felt another wet form collapse on top of her, the two laguz panting wildly. As she lay gasping for air, the memories of what just transpired hit her in full force, and the raven's body became rigid in fear, as the savage laguz royal she was taunting just moments earlier, lay panting on top of her.

As if on cue, the laguz in question slowly and ominously looked up at the raven, her eye silent and unreadable. The soft sounds of crickets once again filled the meadow as Nailah stared Vika down, the raven silently restating her prayers.

''Heh.''

Vika blinked. 'Did... did she just laugh?' She was hearing things. The fall probably messed up her ears. But the smirk on the wolf queen's face did not lie. In fact, it began to grow in size.

''Heheh...Ha...Hahahahaha!''

Vika stared in disbelief. 'She's... not gonna kill me?' Vika should have just slinked away, but she started to find the laughter infectious as the corners of her mouth began to reach skywards. 

''N-Nailah? W-What's so...what's... ha....Haheeheehee!''

And so, despite the life-threatening fiasco and attempted murder between them earlier, the two female laguz laughed their hearts out, wet and cold under the pale moonlight with limbs entwined together.

As their laughter slowly died down to quiet giggling, the two settled side-by-side on the soft meadow grass and comfortably stared up at Ashera's serene night sky. Still enthralled in the bliss of the moment, Vika just barely noticed the wolf queen's thumb lovingly caress her cheekbones.

''Your majesty?'' she softly breathed, her skin silently delighting in the texture of the Hatarian's digit.

''That, that was the look I was going for bird.'' Nailah soothed, her proud smile once again gracing her face. ''Happiness suits you well, Vika.''

The raven simply smiled and moved into Nailah's touch with a content smile. All her troubles seemed half a continent away in the desert beauty's arms. She could hear the wolf queen’s soft heartbeat against her own chest, smell the sweet, musky scent of the Hatarian's hair, feel the water trickle and drip down their skin as the meadow grass scrapped against silky goosebumps. If only she could stay in the queen's embrace for an eternity, feel nothing but Nailah's soft, wet, alluring skin against her own until Tellius itself drowned....

The raven shot upright in an instant, the intimacy of both the embrace and her thoughts, too much to handle. A scarlet blush, poorly hidden from the wolf queen's eyes, surfaced as Vika turned her back to Nailah.

''I-It's about time we headed back to camp, y-your majesty.'' she jumbled, wings twitching nervously. ''We're marching tomorrow and w-we need to clean ourselves.'' Vika noted that they were covered in willow leaves and creek water.

Nailah, disappointed with the sudden lack of contact, began to whine, dissatisfied.

''Ehhhhhhh? But the night's still young bird! Besides, us wolf laguz can lick ourselves clean faster than a senator at a heron auction.'' the queen argued, a childish pout on her face.

Vika scoffed at the tasteless joke. 

''Well, us raven laguz don't have the luxury of walking baths, so I'm turning in.''

Yet, before she could take a step, Vika stiffened as she suddenly felt the Hatarian's hands take a soft hold on her shoulders, sensually massaging down the length of her arms. A low voice began to breath, hot in the raven's ear. 

''Mmmmmm, but I don't mind lending you my tongue one bit, Vika.'' the beauty seductively moaned.

A shrill squawk tore out of Vika throat, her face as hot as a red dragon's breath. Before she could turn around and stammer like an idiot, a bright light lit up her backside, and a white wolf blazed past her legs, that cocky laughter Vika had been hearing too much of lately, resonating through the air.

''Hahaha, I think I like that look the most, bird!'' the wolf happily howled, her tail taunting at Vika.

The raven simply stood fixed in place, her mouth flapping open and shut. Eventually, a forced smile came to her face, doing little to relieve the heat. ''Y-Y-You... Next time I really am gonna drop you, mutt!''

A second flash of light lit up the valley as Vika took the form of a lithe crow and began to chase after her tormentor. The rest of the Liberation Army would soon awaken to the animal-like laughter of a wolf and raven as the two chased each other back to base camp, the moon and fireflies radiantly lighting up their path.


	2. Preparations and Molestation

Soft amber light bathed the inside of a tent as a raven laguz peacefully reclined into a warm, soft chair. Vika let out a blissful sigh of relief as the hole in her arm silently began to close, a soft blue light mixing with the apricot glow of the tent's lamp. The priest before her, a cute little beorc she had learned was called Laura, happily continued to mend Vika's wound, her staff moving expertly.

The Liberation Army had just taken the capital back from the Begnion occupation force and the army was happily celebrating their country's newfound freedom. Vika had spent the last couple hours nursing a wound she had gotten during the retaking of the capital, and was just recently interrupted by the little priest, insisting that she take a look at it.

''Hmm... Yep, your arm should be fine now Vika!'' Laura beamed. ''You were really brave in the capital, Vika, swooping up ledges to take out archers. Though, I wish you wouldn't take such big risks. You know flying units are weak to arrows!'' an adorable little pout on her face.

Vika smirked gently. If all humans were as nice as the doting girl before her, she would have forgiven the whole slavery business ages ago. 

''Hmm, but how could I just stand there and let those soldiers fire down on a cute little thing like you, Laura?''

The little priest happily grinned as the raven playfully rustled her hair, a rosy blush on her cheeks.

''Hehehe! Oh, by the way, Nolan's gonna grill some of his famous steaks soon behind the mess tent. Are you going to come Vika?''

At the mention of the meat, Vika's mouth started to salivate. The old, former leader of the Dawn Brigade, did grill a mean steak, nice and juicy with such pungent spices. She had vivid memories of how their resident thunder mage had joyfully engulfed two cattle worth of meat before the entire mess hall, soldiers cowering under their napkins in fear.

''Ha, I wouldn't miss those for the world. You go on ahead, I'm gonna wrap up this wound.'' 

A sly grin widened the raven's face. ''Besides, if Aran were to see me arrive with my arm around his sweetheart, we might have another war on our hands.''

A bright blush blossomed on the beorc's face. ''Awww, no teasing Vika! Okay, but you better hurry, or else Ilyana is gonna eat them all up!''

With a cheerful wave, Laura lifted the tent flap and disappeared, leaving Vika alone with her thoughts. As the raven settled down onto her cot, she began to reflect on the last couple of days. After her little pep talk with Nailah, she had learned to interact more with the humans in the army. Surprisingly, none of them threw anything at her. Hell, she even became friends with some of them, like the adorable little priest and her bodyguard with the unfitting hair, or the swordsmaster, Zihark, who had quite a soft side for laguz. Everyone in the army, (except maybe the mumbling madman and the pitch-black wall of armour), was extremely tolerant to Vika and she never would have gotten to know their personalities or colourful backgrounds, had Nailah not helped her come to peace with herself.

As if on cue, the wolf in question burst into Vika's tent, her carefree smile wide on her face and a faint hint of alcohol fresh on her lips. She exaggeratingly tumbled her way towards Vika, plopping her body next to Vika on the bed.

''What's an adorable little bird like you doing alone, sweetheart?'' Nailah charmed, trying to force the charisma onto her face. ''How 'bout we head down to the bathhouse and make some waves.''

Vika simply scoffed as she saw the woman try and fail to waggle her eyebrows seductively. She turned her back to the wolf, her black wings smacking into the charmer's face, inciting a surprised whine.

''Is this how you treat all foreigners your majesty?'' the raven teased. ''No wonder Hatari hasn't had outside contact in ages with a queen like you.''

''How cruel! You weren't so cold that night in the meadow, bird.'' Nailah began to leisurely trace a finger down Vika's back, causing the raven to shiver in surprise. ''Perhaps I should teach you another lesson in bathing.'' 

''Hmph. And perhaps I should teach you one in flying.'' Vika smugly rebutted. 

The two laughed in harmony at the joke, and Vika eventually inched closer to Nailah as the two enjoyed a comfortable silence. Ever since the incident in the meadow, the two laguz had become good friends, spending a lot of their downtime talking and training together. While Vika never came close to besting the wolf queen in combat, she did enjoy hearing her stories about life in Hatari. 

''So, I hear you and company will be escorting me and Rafiel to Gallia.'' the wolf queen announced, breaking the silence.

Shortly after the coronation of Daein's new king, Tormod had told her that they would be escorting both Nailah and the heron Rafiel to Castle Gallia. Rafiel was the first prince of the heron clan, a tribe which only consisted of a three other members, to Vika's knowledge after the Serenes Massacre. It was imperative that he be reunited with his family, who was under the protection of the Hawk King, leader of Pheonicis, a country with close ties to Gallia. Nailah, on the other hand, was the queen of a newly discovered country in a world where there was only one continent was on the map and wished to speak with Tellius's own beast ruler in Gallia.

When Vika first heard the news, she felt strangely thrilled. Sure, she now had to spend the next couple of months or so travelling through human countries, fighting to protect one of the most sought-after laguz in all of Tellius from slavers. Yet, at the same time, it meant she wouldn't have to say goodbye to Nailah. When she thought of parting ways with the woman who had changed her life, she felt a strange sorrow in her chest and wanted to curl up in bed (though she'd never tell Nailah that). If she could stay by the queen for just a little longer, learn one more little tidbit of information about life in Hatari, hear that charming laughter just one more time, then that would be reward enough. Once again, that was something that would never leave the raven's lips.

''Yeah, I hear the hawk king pays well for favours relating to the herons.'' Vika smirked. ''But, if you want me to look after your behind, it’s coming out of your pocket.''

''Stingy.'' A daunting smile began to augment the queen's face. ''Though, you look at my behind enough around camp. I don't think I need to pay you for it.''

That got a rise out of the raven as Vika threw a pillow at the wolf, face hot with embarrassment. 

''Jeeeeezz, enough with the jokes Nailah!'' As Vika prepared another pillow in her hands, she suddenly remembered a certain promise to a certain priest.

''Oh yeah, Laura invited to eat some steaks. Wanna come?'' Vika saw the wolf queen's eye flash.

''Oh, is that old man making them again?'' the wolf asked with a animal-like craving, her carnivorous appetite reflected on her sharp teeth.

Nailah shot up from the bed before holding out a hand to Vika. ''After you, beautiful.'' she grinned.

''Hmm, better.'' the raven offered as she took Nailah's hand and exited the tent.

Just as she stepped into the cool, night air, however, she felt a strong and sudden hand grab and lovingly fondle her rear.

''Mmmm, though I wouldn't mind paying you to watch your behind, bird.''

''N-NAILAH!''

And so, with an another blaze of scarlet lighting up her face, Vika chased Nailah to the camp cookout, and the two spent one last night with their Daein comrades, enjoying good food and company as the country's flag flew free.


	3. A Rough Start

Vika awoke the next morning with a satisfied caw, the taste of booze and meat savourily lingering on her tongue. She sat up from the small sheet she had slept on and rested her bare feet on the grass, the blades tickling her skin and wet dew cooly clinging to her toes. The bright horizon tingled her eyes as the amber rays of the morning sun sent a comforting shiver down Vika's spine, warmth caressing the raven's weary skin and feathers. 

After saying their goodbyes to their beorc friends, Vika, Muarim, and Tormod, accompanied by Nailah and Rafiel, started on their long journey to Gallia. Being in the dead of night, they didn't get very far before deciding to rest. Shifting her sight from the sunrise, she saw Rafiel resting serenely as a snowflake on his bedroll, Nailah barely an arms-length away. Vika’s smile weakened a fraction. Nailah seemed so close and protective of the heron, always fretting over anything the heron was worried with. It was a petty, shallow thing to be jealous of, considering just how 'close' Nailah liked to behave with her, but she still watched the two, especially the desert beauty, with a longing.

''Something on your mind Vika?''

Vika tore her gaze away from the wolf and looked in the direction of the voice. To her right, half concealed in the shade of a tree, she saw a green tiger laguz, calmly staring at her with a smile.

Muarim, a kind hearted tiger laguz and a father figure to Tormod, had rather large bags under his eyes from his night watch, thought given his proximity to the red-headed boy, he was more interested in protecting Tormod than Rafiel, his current employer. 

''M-Muarim! Ha...'' the raven squawked with embarrassment. ''I didn't know you were awake.''

''I was on guard watch remember? I had to relieve you of duty after you drunkenly referred to the little one as 'an enemy Elfire spell'.'' a passive smile on the man's face.

The raven let out a soft snort of amusement.

''Oh, he's not gonna let me forget that one.'' Vika signed with a strained smile.

''Ha, I know I won't.'' Muarim said with a low chuckle. ''Anyways, you are up quite early Vika. Trying to steal glances of the wolf queen's behind again, are you?'' 

That woke her up. 

''W-What?! W-Who put you up to this?!'' Heat rose to the raven's cheeks. ''I-It's because I insulted your precious 'little one' isn't it?!''

The tiger let out a hefty laugh, causing the three still sleeping to tumble about in discomfort. When he calmed down, he gave Vika a sympathetic look as his eyes softened in understanding.

''I jest Vika. Though, I am happy for what you have gained. I remember before you met the queen, you used to describe all beorc, with the exception of Tormod, with such distain and loathing. In the past couple of weeks in the army, you made friends with many of the those humans you once despised, didn't you Vika? I am grateful she was able to help you where I and the little one could not.''

A small smile grew on Vika's face as she twiddled her thumbs, wings absentmindedly flapping in the direction of the queen.

''Yeah. I'll admit that. She really did get to me.'' 

Soft eyes took in the alluring, sleeping form of the desert queen, warmth radiating the raven's chest. Vika suddenly averted her glaze as she felt the happily taunting eyes of the tiger hot on her back.

''T-That, that doesn't mean we're anything more than good friends though! So you can give your imagination a rest.'' the raven defended, arms indignantly folded. 

An extremely unimpressed look appeared on Muarim's face.

''I was not aware that mere friends groped each other alone in a tent and took turns,'' and he emphasized this point with two pairs of bending fingers,

''-bathing each other. I don't mind if you are overly enthusiastic about your new mate, but I ask that you preform such lewd acts away from the innocent eyes of my little one.''

Vika shot up like a rocket and barked with an intensity that rivalled the king of Gallia.

''J-JUST WHAT THE HELL HAS SHE BEEN TELLING YOU?!!'' her face red-hot and glaring at the amused tiger. She was just barely aware of the disgruntled shifting of a laguz royal behind her.

''Shut your squawking bird. You probably woke up Naga's Voice with your screaming.'' the wolf in question muttered, irritated at being awoken from her nap.

Muarim took great amusement in watching Vika bolt her way over to the queen, almost tripping over Rafiel, and furiously nagging to the wolf over what he had just told her. He noted that the wolf's grumpy face quickly morphed into one of sheepish guilt as she frantically attempted damage control, the two illuminated by the vibrant morning glow.

''Wuh? What's going on?'' Tormod began to stir from his sleep, dreams interrupted by the sounds of the two women quarrelling. The tiger laguz lied a comforting hand on his head.

''Do not worry. It is a laguz matter. You just drift back to sleep, little Elfire.'' 

Muarim blinked.

'Wait.'

 

Thus, the five set out on the first foot of their long journey to Gallia. As they travelled through the Daein landscape, whether it was the cool, icy villages along the mountains, or large, busy, castle towns rivalling the capital, they constantly were greeted with the sight of extravagant festivals and joyful Daeins, zestfully celebrating their country's hard fought freedom and tearing down symbols of Begnion's oppression.

As Vika took in the cheerful sights, she couldn't help but feel somewhat proud of herself for playing a part in the country's restoration and the smiles of it's citizens, even if some of the soldiers would give them dirty looks when the laguz took too long at a food stall. 

With interactions amidst the Daein humans being little to none, the five had to start conversions between each other. Rafiel greatly enjoyed listening to tales of his heron's brother, Reyson, from Muarim and Tormod, whom had fought beside the younger prince during the Mad King's War. Nailah also had gotten into the habit of sparing with Muarim, the tiger putting up a much better fight than Vika did, yet, like the raven, he never came close to defeating the blazing desert wolf. Vika had also gotten to know Rafiel a little better, finding his lulling heron galdrs to be enticing and attempting to teach the heron how to fly again. 

Of course, conversations and squabbles with Nailah took up the most of Vika's time. To the raven's relief, she found out that the Hatarian wasn't as perverse when she was sober, though every once in a while, the wolf's silver tongue found a way to cause Vika's blood and cheeks to boil. When Vika wasn't shamefully stammering at the foreign charmer, Nailah would continue her stories about her country, telling the wide-eyed raven about the exotic landscape of Hatari or the unique laguz races which called the country home. 

One day, as the group neared the Daein-Crimea border, the three males of the group were in a lengthy discussion about a certain blue-haired hero, while Nailah was in the middle of describing to Vika what the unique laguz in Hatari were like, the raven as enthralled as a child listening to a bedtime story.

''As I said before, the main laguz groups in Hatari are the wolves, oxen, avian, and dune worm tribes.  
The ox tribe you could probably compare to the tiger laguz of your continent. Strong, bulky bastards that made their homes in the Central Desert Plains like us wolves did. They have these massive, thick horns on their heads that can gouge people open.''

A perplexed look crossed Vika's face. ''Horns? You mean the long, pointy thing that some pegasi have?'' the raven inquired.

The queen gave a quick laugh. ''Ha, I suppose it's the same idea, but the cheap paperweight on those dainty things won't do squat in a fight. I've seen some oxen heave and crush boulders with their horns. 

Vika hummed, impressed. She briefly wondered if Muarim could accomplish such a feat, though the thought was quickly lost as she jumped to the next topic, bright eyed.

''Oh, tell me more about the avian laguz! What are they like, how to they fight?''

''Heh, I was wondering when you would ask about them. A lot like the bird tribe here on Tellius, the avian tribe is divided into two distinct types of laguz; the vulture laguz and the owl laguz. They come from this massive and lush forest to the south of the central plains, with huge trees that can reach a couple castle walls in height.''

''Goddess, that high?'' the raven breathed, incredulous. ''And I thought the trees in Gallia were impressive.''

''Yeah, I visited the place on a number of occasions and every time I had to take a moment just to appreciate just how gorgeous it is. The flora there grow in such vibrant and exotic colours, and the way the sunlight would peek through the ceiling of leaves is a treat for the eyes. Probably the most impressive thing about the place, though, was the royal avian palace, which is the biggest damn tree in the entire forest, the trunk carved out by the avians into a castle of sorts.''

Vika's imagination ran wild. She dreamed of how such a sight would look, a tree multiple forts in size, with bird laguz flying on and off mighty branches the length of bridges, as rays of white sunlight peaked through the green overgrowth. She sighed in envy. Vika loved it how Nailah would go into such description of the beautiful Hatari landscape. How she wished she could see the sights with her own eyes, experience the exotic scenery with the Hatarian wind on her skin and ground beneath her feet.

''Back to the birds, the avian tribe is a lot different from you ravens and hawks. Vultures for one, have extremely thick feathers, almost as strong as plate mail. If I were to compare them to anything, I would describe them as flying generals. Hell, I've sparred with the vulture queen before and even my claws barely left a scratch in the bitch's wings!'' Nailah sneered, as if reliving some shameful memory.

''Owls are even stranger. They are the only laguz in existence to fight with magic.''

Vika stopped in her tracks.

''What?! H-How...but magic is the product of humans! Laguz would never resort to the weapons of humans or even be capable of using spells!'' Vika cried in disbelief.

''Mmm, how do you explain Rafiel then? The owls use galdr just as herons do, except they've learned to manipulate it into magical attacks. The old bird brains love to remind the humans how the first 'Holy United Grand Beorc Empire','' Nailah said in a comically pompous voice,

''scouting party to try and invade the forest was forced into retreat after only a couple days of combat, completely thrown off as their arrows failed to puncture vulture feathers and being bombarded by light magic from the wings of the owls.''

Vika gawked in amazement. She could never imagine a hawk or a raven being able to take a direct shot from a bow or magical ruins erupting from her own wings and striking her foes. As she struggled to remember the last laguz tribe Nailah had mentioned, Vika noticed the wolf queen had suddenly stopped walking, deathly still with an unreadable look on her face.

''Err, Nailah? Are you-''

The Hatarian abruptly tackled Vika to the ground, pinning her under the weight of her dusty body. As Vika began to berate the queen for her inappropriate advances, her eyes caught a glistening light and drifted to an arrow sticking out of the ground where her body was just moments ago standing.

‘What the...’

''Bandits!'' she heard Muarim yell.

A crude canopy of cries began to fill the air as a wave of gritty humans rushed out of the bushes, making a beeline for Rafiel.

Nailah was off her in an instant, quickly shifting into her wolf form and mauling the nearest bandit. Before Vika could say a thing, she heard a yell to her left and saw an axe-wielding warrior rushing at her. Her eyes hardened in primal instinct and shifted in a burst of white light. The next thing the attacking man saw was a black raven swiftly shooting past him, a couple of black feathers falling in the breeze. 

''Oii! You come back her you mangy sub-hu-Guak! You...Erk-Ahkkkkk......''

The man hadn't noticed the thin red line across his throat before it was too late and expired, choking on the ground in a pool of his own blood. As Vika wiped the foul blood off her beak, she heard the slow creaking of a bow behind her. As she twirled around, she saw an archer with his bow trained directly at her back.

''Ain't no one to save you now birdie! Now pick a God a pr-AHHHHHHH!''

As a fierce glow red lit up the road, the man suddenly erupted into a ball of fire, screaming as he was singed alive. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Tormod, runes encircling his hand and a cocky look on his face.

''Now that was an Elfire, Vika! Mistake me for that again and I'll give you a closer look!''

She sheepishly squawked in appreciation as she flew higher to get a better look of the battlefield. 

Tormod had returned to throwing fireballs at screaming bandits. Further away, she saw Nailah and Muarim ripping apart humans at an amazing pace as Rafiel showered the two in a dazzling, turquoise light. She watched the wolf queen in an awe. Her form was so radiant, none of the humans coming close to touching her and always managed to hit a vital point, decimating the bandits in a single bite as beads of sweat danced off her fur. She quickly snapped out of her stupor as she saw an enemy fire mage creep up on the two beast laguz and the raven wasted no time in diving into the bandits flank, ripping into the spellcaster's back. 

The group made quick work of the bandits, routing everyone who didn't escape in fear. Nailah went to Rafiel side, making sure the heron was free of harm, while the other three rummaged through the fallen bandits for gold before moving on.

''Pfft! What a bunch of pushovers! What idiot leader did those dolts have, attacking a group like ours?'' Tormod boasted as the five continued down the country road. The mage yelped in pain, however, as Muarim smacked the boy's head, scolding the child.

''I-I'm so sorry everyone. They attacked us because they wanted me didn't they?'' Rafiel offered, guilt crumpling his face. 

''Bah, stop your squawking Rafiel.'' Nailah leisurely said, stretching her arms. ''Like the boy said, those humans were weaklings. I've fought priests tougher than them.''

The five pushed on ahead, licking their wounds and enjoying the now much more peaceful scenery. Tormod had fashioned a light cloak of sorts and donned it on Rafiel, in hopes of concealing his identity from greedy bandits. As they pasted a series of large, intimidating fortresses, signalling their proximity to the Crimean boarder, Nailah became amusingly aware of a certain raven, twittering and fidgety, who for the last little while, had attempted to approach Nailah numerous times, each time ending in her awkwardly retreating, mumbling shamefully. Finally, after the sun had decided to dip down the horizon, the wolf noticed the bird shuffling awkwardly beside her, trying, and failing, to act nonchalant, with her hands behind her head and eyes looking everywhere except the at the Hatarian. 

''About time you decided to join me bird.'' the Nailah grinned. ''Something on your mind?''

Vika shifted uncomfortably and groaned, a light blush creeping down her nape. 

''Err, y-yeah I guess. I-I just wanted to e-express my gratitude-uhh n-no! I want to a-a-apologize for snapping at you w-when...ah no, not that. I-I-I mean, that too but...!'' Vika curled up slightly.

'What the hell are you doing damn it!' she internally screamed. 'Y-You were rehearsing this for the entire day! Why can you just say thank you?!'

Vika was absolutely baffled at how hard this was for her. All she needed to do was thank Nailah for saving her life, then maybe laugh it off. But when she thought about how she snapped at the queen on the ground after she had tackled her, how the wolf gracefully danced about the battlefield, how she momentarily locked eyes with Nailah's single, green orb, their bodies dusty and flush together, she just froze up, shame and another unfamiliar emotion taking over her body. As she peeked over to the queen, red-faced, she saw her patiently looking back at her, just like that time in the meadow where they first met. 

Yet, there was something else. Vika always knew Nailah was beautiful. Hell, even a senile dragon could tell that. But, as she stared at the desert queen now, her charmingly rugged features bathed in the glow of a setting sun, the way the wind softly tussled her dreamy purple hair, her round curves, coloured an exotic sandy brown, Vika felt something throb in her chest and her body becoming uncomfortably flush. 

''Ahh, Nailah...'' the raven breathed. ''Y-you were amazing back there. I-I really appreciate you saving me from that arrow Nailah. Y-You...I think you're wonderful.''

Suddenly, horror creaped into her eyes as Vika squeaked and swiftly turned away from the wolf, fingers twitching madly. 'W-W-What the hell was that last part?! 'I think you're wonderful'?! Goddess, she's gonna laugh at me till we reach Gallia!'

Yet, the laugh that came was short-lived and cheerful, and complimenting it was an arm around her, causing the raven to stiffen and stare up, slack-jawed.

''Hehe, that wasn't so hard, now was it bird?'' Nailah laughed, her gorgeous smile further complimented by the sunset. ''I am your friend Vika, and on my honour as queen of Hatari, I won't let anything happen to you.''

Vika swooned in the queens arms. Just what was it about this person? What was it that caused Vika to feel so comfortable around, feel like the embrace of her arms held all the raven could crave for? She gave a wolf a bright smile before softly settling in her hold.

''Hmm. Thanks, Nailah. J-Just don’t expect to hear it often. Hm, or ever again.'' she breathed warmly, eyes closed in content.

Nailah smirked and began to shuffle the raven's hair.

'Heh, she sure is cute when she's like this. I want to see you smile Vika. Naga help me, you'll find your new world someday, and I won't leave your side ‘til you do.' 

The Hatarian hummed softly in satisfaction, enjoying the warmth from both the setting sun and the woman nestled in her arms. She also felt a different kind of warmth, deep in her heart, but it was something she decided to ignore for the moment.

'Hey...she called me wonderful didn't she! Ohh, now we're getting somewhere!' Nailah slyly grinned, deciding to push her luck further.

''Yeah, I am pretty awesome, aren't I bird?’’ puffing out her chest. ‘’No way I would let those arrows hit you.'' A lecherous smile creeped onto the queen's face.

''Besides, I should be the only one that gets to penetra-''

_Slap._


	4. Dance Past Difference

The rest of their journey through liberated Daein passed uneventfully, and the five soon found themselves in neighbouring Crimea. As soon as they crossed the boarded, they immediately noticed a change in the natives. Whereas the Daeins would often glare at the laguz at a distance, the Crimeans were much more inviting and welcoming to the group, often waving at the laguz as they passed bustling villages, some even offering them fresh grown fruit as they passed fields. Vika was astounded by their kindness. After years of suffering and negligence from her human masters, she never thought she would ever see humans smile at her so kindly, nor be offered their hard-laboured fruits for free. Rafiel seemed every bit as fazed as she was. Muarim and Tormod seemed like they expected this change, while Nailah didn't seem to react to it at all.

''After The Mad King's War, many Gallian laguz helped in Crimea's reconstruction.'' Muarim had began to explain, sensing the group's confusion. ''Seeing the people that they had once treated with such animosity, put in such an effort to rebuild their homeland, greatly moved the Crimeans, thus they feel quite an obligation and kinship towards laguz.''

''I-I never though it was possible for the two races to coexist on such a level in Tellius.'' Rafiel gawked. ''Things have changed greatly during my absence here.''

''I really don't see what the big deal is.'' Nailah said, biting into a ripe tomato that an old farming couple had offered her. ''Beorc and laguz have been just peachy with each other for centuries in Hatari. How you guys are still so sore over a tail or different ears is beyond me.''

''Perhaps it was the way we were raised and taught.'' Vika chipped in, staring at her own shiny fruit. ''Many beorc are raised to believe that laguz are sub-human scum and will slaughter you and your loved ones if you let them roam free. Laguz, on the other hand, still have the memories of slavery from the humans fresh in their minds and are taught that they are superior physically. They despise humans for their suffering and want to see them experience the same pain that the laguz had to undergo. At least, that's how I felt...''

''Hatred for the sake of hatred is such a stupid concept.'' Nailah said, eyes hardened. ''Any blood split in ancient history has long since dried up. Judging someone simply based on their origins and not their life decisions will only repeat the bloodshed. Instead, you need to start on a new slate, where what happened in the past stays in the past, and work through your problems as equals.''

Vika nodded as she silently pondered the queen's words. Would there ever come a time where beorc and laguz could coexist peacefully throughout Tellius? Could they even sit at the same table to discuss it without tearing each other apart? Before she could get very far into her thoughts, she was interrupted by the excited yelling of their fire mage.

''Hey look! A festival!''

To the east of them, Vika saw a quite little village with lavish decorations about it, villagers happily dancing about and eating delicious looking foods. Though they saw many festivities in Daein, they never stayed to long for fear of racial tensions with the soldiers. Vika always wanted to join in on the cheerful human customs.

''Hmm, we are running low on supplies. Let us stay the night in this town before moving on. The gold from those bandits will treat us to a bit of fun as well.'' Muarim spoke, inciting a loud cheer from Tormod.

As they entered the energetic town, Vika saw stands as far as her eye could see, some selling savoury foods and produce, others charming human knick-knacks. Tormod instantly raced off in pursuit of food and souvenirs, Vika laughing as the mage's adoptive father hurried off after the boy before he got a cavity. As they bobbed and weaved through the stalls, sampling Crimean sweets, Vika suddenly felt something tugging on her wing. Turning around, she was greeted with the sight of a tiny little human girl, her left hand feeling the raven's feathers with an intense curiosity.

''Umm...'' Vika mumbled.

''A-Are they real miss?!'' the little girl suddenly asked, her eyes wide and glistening. ''Can you fly?!''

Vika chuckled at the child, bending down and grinning. ''Of course they're real. Wouldn't be much use if I couldn't fly, right?'' To emphasize the point, Vika flapped her wings, gracefully lifting off the ground and doing some twirls in the air.

''W-WOW! THAT'S SO COOL!'' the little girl yelled, jumping up and down in awe.

As she saw the little girl dance in happiness, her mind began to drift to a certain instance back to a meadow in Daein.

''Would you like to try?'' she asked, offering her back to the girl.

''REALLY?!'' the child shrieked as she jumped onto the raven's back.

Vika chuckled as tiny hands circled her neck. She lifted off in a flash of dust and began to fly the child above the village. Vika felt warm inside as she heard the excited chattering and cries of the little girl, gasping and pointing out all the landmarks she remembered around town. She wondered if this was what life was like in Hatari. Laguz and beorc happily laughing together and enjoying each other's company just as any other.

The bubbling of the little girl didn't stop even after they touched down, the child hopping with a huge smile on her face.

''That was the most amazing thing ever miss!'' she said with a cute little squeak. Vika soon felt tiny arms wrap around her knees lovingly.

''Thank you so much!''

A spark of pride and happiness filled Vika's chest. 'This is what life should be like.' she thought. The two races living together without discrimination, the only thing that mattered being how each could use their own unique gifts to make the other smile.

''You're very welcome.'' Vika soothed, a hand petting the child's hair.

''Well, aren't you popular?'' she heard Nailah tease.

''Wha-''

Looking up, she saw a small crowd of little children, all chirping at the raven for a ride with big, bright eyes, as adults stood grinning and clapping behind them.

'Oh goddess.'

Nailah walked up beside her and struttingly pumped her fist in the air.

''Don't worry bird! I got enough muscle to take all of these kids on the ride of their lives!''

Memories of torture and drops through open sky filled the raven’s head.

''Oh no! You are not jumping off a cliff with five kids on your back!'' the raven scolded.

Thus, Vika, Nailah, and eventually Muarim, took turns letting the beorc children ride them about the town. Vika was able to convince the queen to drastically lower her speed when giving rides, much to the queen's disappointment. Luckily, the exhausted laguz were able to avoid the prospect of repeat rides, saved by Tormod and Rafiel, the mage creating a magic show with his spells and the heron singing soothing lullabies, which was also enjoyed by the adults of the village.

The sun had begin to set as the five finished up their little circus, the children all leaving with a smile on their faces, save the little girl Vika initially met, who she learned was called Lila. The child had insisted to stay with the group, showing them the sights around town.

''And that's the flower shop! Mommy loves buying pretty plants from there! And that's Old Man Glenning's House! He gives me cool toys, but smells funny! And that's...''

Lila continued to chirp from her position on Vika's shoulders. Her back was aching from all the rides she had been giving all afternoon and just wanted to lie down and sleep. Muarim also seemed to share her fatigue, while Nailah almost seemed unaffected, listening to Lila with interest. As the group stumbled on, they suddenly found themselves in what appeared to be the town centre, with humans happily dancing their worries away, illuminated by the aged sunset's shades of pink and purple as the vibrant sounds of instruments sailed on the wind.

''Oh! Here's the main plaza. All the adults come here to dance during festivals.''

Lila plopped down from Vika's back and grabbed onto Tormod's hand.

''Hey magicman! Dance with me!'' she beamed, dragging the little mage away.

''Hey! Just what are you implying?! I'm not as short as you! I'm a grown maaaaaan!''

The remaining four laughed as they saw the little girl manhandle the embarrassed mage into a swing, his feet struggling to keep up.  
Vika felt a strong hand grasp hers and looked over to see Muarim curtsy, his tail waggling in the air.

''May I have this dance Vika?''

Vika grinned. ''Heh, ever the charmer, huh? Of course Muarim.''

Thus, the tiger took the raven in hand and the two spun around the town centre. In the corner of her eye, Vika saw Nailah and Rafiel do the same thing, except it seemed like Nailah was the man in their tango, sweeping the heron off his feet. She let out a content sigh.

''This is truly an amazing place, isn't it.'' Muarim said mid-dance, a fulfilled smile on his features. ''I had not dreamed I would be frolicking in a human village, laughing and giving back rides to beorc children while being treated to their foods.''

''Ha, yeah. This entire journey was an amazing experience.'' Vika smiled. ''When we free all our friends in slavery, we should take them here and enjoy a bit of cultural exposure.''

The tiger hummed. 'Yes. Hopefully we can make Tellius united again.''

The two danced together for a little while longer, enjoying the festive atmosphere, before Vika noticed Muarim's face become deathly serious.

''Vika. I fear my life is in great danger.'' he said, face hardened.

Vika froze. ''W-What?! Here?! What's going on?'' she asked, fear replacing her enjoyment.

Muarim stared at Vika, stonefaced for a short moment, before breaking out in a large grin.

''She has been glaring at me for quite a while.''

And with that, he twirled Vika away from him. The next thing she felt was falling dramatically into Nailah's arms, a roguish smile on the queen's face.

''N-Nailah?!'' the raven gasped, her face heating.

''You're damn right you hand her over!'' the wolf shouted in the tiger’s direction. ''This bird is property of Hatari!''

In a daze, Vika soon found herself on her feet again, as Nailah held their arms together and waltzed off.

''Eeeep! W-What are you doing?!'' the raven squeaked, jumbling about and completely off rhythm from Nailah.

The wolf queen however, with her expertise dexterity and finesse, managed to keep Vika from falling to her feet and continued to gracefully spin the blushing raven around the bustling square, the locals entranced by the two dancing laguz.

''Why, I'm simply having an innocent dance with my favourite black-haired bird.'' she smirked, a charismatic air to her voice. ''What's wrong? You didn't seem this flustered when dancing with Muarim.''

The quip only served to intensify the tinge on Vika's cheeks as the dazzling woman progressed in their waltz with an enrapturing flair, inciting wolf whistles and squeals from the humans. The raven was still struggling to keep up with the lively dance of the queen, playfully scrutinized by the mistress's glistening, emerald eye.

'Damn it! She's doing it again!' Vika internally screamed, eyes focused on her feet and away from the wolf's stare. She was beginning to feel strange again, her chest fluttering as she become hyperaware of the Hatarian's rough, yet at the same time, soft skin, guiding her body about.

'N-No! I'm not going to play the fool again!'

Nailah felt the raven's posture lag a bit and dancing being to slow, head tilting towards the ground.

''Hey, Vika? You alri-''

Before she could finish her sentence, Vika suddenly pushed her panting body against the queen, her face so close to Nailah's that the wolf could smell the faint whispers of sweets on her breath.

Nailah visibly stiffened. Their dancing had all but stopped, alongside their crowd, and an uncharacteristic blush creeped onto the queen's face as she saw Vika slowly inch her face towards her own, her eyes glazed and breathing husky.

''V-Vika? P-People are watching!'' Nailah, shakily said.

''Nailah.'' the raven oh so seductively said, sending shivers down the wolf queen's spine. ''I always...I want to...''

Nailah stood motionless as the raven was now half a hair's length from the queen's lips, her breath caressing Nailah's lips, sensuality teasing of things to come.

'H-Holy crap! D-Did I mess with her too hard?! Ahh... she's gonna... her lips are...'

Just a moment more, and she would taste Vika's...

''Pfft.''

The sounds of their lips smacking together was never heard, instead replaced with a raven's snort as Vika suddenly dove down and away from Nailah's shuddering lips and wrapped both arms around the queen's torso.

''V-Vika! What are you-EEEEEEEEEEEE''

With a mighty flap of her black wings, Vika throttled them upwards into the sky and, with a grace and speed befitting one of the raven tribe, she smoothly cradled the shaking laguz and began to pull them together in a majestic ariel dance, Vika's wings and toned muscles keeping them a float. Cheering had erupted from their spectators and the music rose to a wild pitch, as the two waltzed through the festive air, arms intwined and bathed in a brilliant shade of sunset pink.

''My, my, my. Now that was pretty smooth bird.'' Nailah breathed with an impressed grin, quickly calming down from her pervious episode. ''I'm swooning.''

Vika gave a smile every bit as charming as Nailah's, though her cheeks still showed a bit of colour, and swooped the wolf about a large tower in the middle of the plaza.

''I can't act like the schoolgirl all the time. Besides, you needed a taste of your own medicine, your majesty.''

Nailah simply hummed as she sunk into the raven's embrace and continued their skyward performance, shifting her weight around to keep up with the raven's controlling wings.

Thus, as the crowd roared beneath them and the violins flared, the two danced their hearts out, swaying lively through the air. Vika never felt so elated in her entire life, a vibrant mix of orange, pink, and purple caressing the scenery, the bright melody of instruments pulsating through her body, the cool breeze soft and free in her hair, the smell of spice on the summer wind, and, most importantly, the warm and invigorating embrace of Nailah in her arms. With a joyful smile, Vika finished their dance with a flourish, spinning the two downwards and throwing the queen in the air, before catching her and swinging her towards the ground with a dapper wink, both of them panting hard. As she stared at the wolf queen, entranced, she suddenly felt Nailah's soft lips quickly plant themselves on her cheek, causing the raven's blush to return in full force.

''My hero.'' Nailah said with a smirk.

The crowd broke up in applause as the song came to a crescendo, loudly cheering and squealing at the two performers. Vika noticed some had even begun to throw flowers at them, one of which Nailah caught and planned in Vika's hair. The raven just stood there in an happy daze.

''N-N-Nailah!'' she stammered, clutching her cheek where the kiss still burned. ''Y-You-''

''Hahaha, no one out-teases me bird!'' the wolf laughed. ''Besides, such a charming performance deserves a reward, does it not?

Vika goofily smiled and relaxed in Nailah's embrace, happiness momentarily overpowering embarrassment. That was, until she became aware that they were not alone, and jolted as the wave of chattering villagers swarmed the two.

''That was such a romantic performance! Where did you learn to dance like that?''

''Eeeeee! The wolf laguz is so handsome!''

''But the raven one's prettier! I'd KILL for her figure!''

''Are you guys this extravagant in bed?! Can you give me tips?!''

Embarrassment won over this round, and it was all Vika could do to not burn a hole in the ground as Nailah expressively handled the crowd, charismatically answering their questions as she tried to keep them away from her dance partner, enjoying one last moment of the chaotic festivities as the sun set on the extravagant day.

 

It was dark outside by the time the two had finished dealing with their fans. Nailah was supporting the weary raven, one arm slung around her shoulder, as they stubbled about town, looking for their friends and an inn. The blush still hadn't fully disappeared from Vika's face, nor the smile from Nailah's, as the night air cooled their heated and tired bodies.

''Errrrgh.'' the raven groaned with fatigue. ''Those pesky humans took way too long. Have they never seen a laguz do something other than fight?''

Nailah, who seemed less affected by the long day, softly chuckled.

''Hey, its not every year two dashing laguz women come to town and begin dancing in mid-air. Besides, they seemed pretty innocent.''

''Innocent?! Do you remember the teenager who asked for bedroom tips?! Or those girls who kept trying to rip our clothes off?! This...this wouldn't have happened if you didn't k-kiss me at the end.'' Vika mumbled, suddenly finding the ground much more interesting.

Nailah slyly grinned as she leaned in closer to the raven.

''Hoho, you think I provoked them, eh? Do you not remember a certain bird lustfully straddling her dance partner, breathing hot on her lips, hmmm?''

Nailah could feel the heat radiating from the raven's cheeks from here, taking joy in hearing Vika stutter out excuses, none of which were coherent. Vika was still going by the time Nailah had stopped walking, standing outside a comfy-looking building, soft lights illuminating windows and signs.

''Alright bird, this is where the three boys’ scents lead to. Hmm, pretty nice looking place if I say so myself.''

''IwasjusttryingtogetrevengemyfeetwerehurtingIdon'tknowwhatyourtalk-huh? W-What?''

Nailah ruffled the raven's hair in amusement and began to guide the two through the oak door, a bell chiming as they entered the quaint home. The place was a very tidy and cozy establishment, beautifully created wooden furniture littering the lobby and the smell of pine in the air. Tormod and Rafiel were sitting on a bench, both looking exhausted, as Muarim slowly bounced a small child up and down on his knee, eyes barely open.

''Vika! Wolf lady!'' Lila shouted, as the little girl jumped down from Muarim's knee and ran towards the two, her tiny ponytail bobbing behind her.

''...Wolf lady?''

''Lila! What are you doing here?'' Vika lightly said, picking up the still energetic beorc in her arms.

''Magicman and his friends got tired after your dance so I took them to papa's inn. Your dance was SUPER PRETTY by the way! I wanna grow up to be just as pretty as you two when I grow up!'' the little girl bubbled, bouncing in the raven's arms.

''Yes, your dance was quite the spectacle, Vika.'' Muarim said as she petted Lila's hair. ''Very impressive manoeuvres, though I don't think your rubbing up on the queen was necessary.'' he frowned, a fatherly eye over Tormod.

''Ha, all the other kids seemed to enjoy it just fine! You're just antsy because I stole your dance, cat!'' Nailah teased, inciting laughs from Vika and Lila while Muarim simply meowed in annoyance.

''Well, if it ain't the talk of the town in my inn!'' a voice cut through the lobby.

A middle-aged man stepped out of a doorway and began to approach the group. He wore a barman's suit and had quite an impressive moustache on his slightly wrinkled face.

''I'm Lila's pa, owner and proprietor of Rosstucket Inn. Delighted to make you acquaintance ladies and gentlemen.'' the man said with a bow.

''The pleasure's ours sir.'' Vika said as the rest returned the gesture, Lila jumping into the man's arms. ''Nice to meet Lila's father.''

''We would like to stay for the night if it is possible.'' Muarim said with a smile. ''The day left quite a toll on us.''

''Not a problem at all! I'll set you fine laguz folk up with our best beds, all free of charge.''

The laguz blanched. ''F-Free of-. Oh no, we can't possibly impose on you like that! We can pay for the beds just fine!'' Muarim argued.

The man simply shook his head, smiling. ''My wife was there when the raven flew my little Lila over the town earlier today. She said that my little girl looked so happy, and not only that, but you gave rides to the all the kids in the town! I also had the pleasure of seeing you two ladies tango in the town square myself and I must say it was a captivating sight! Talk of an uprising in our country has recently set the whole town on edge and we tried to squeeze in as much joy as possible before war breaks out. You fellows were able to lift all that worrying and tension from our little village in an instant and gave us some happy memories to hold dear in the coming days. Please, let us pay ya back with a little hospitality.''

The laguz simply smiled at the man, feeling a sense of pride for what they were able to offer the village. They accepted the man's offer and tiredly began to follow the him to their rooms, Muarim carrying Rafiel on his back and Tormod in his arms. The tiger and his luggage entered their room first, the door not even closing before Vika heard them collapse on the floor with a thud. Finally, Vika and Nailah reached their room, bidding farewell the Lila and her father before closing the door behind them.

The room was a snug little thing, beautiful decorations and designs lining the interior. The moon glowed softy through the balcony window, colouring the room in a bluish-white light. Vika would have spent more time admiring the pretty details if she wasn't so tired, and collapsed onto the bed, blissfully moaning as she felt an unholy softness sink her deep into the mattress.

'Wait. Bed? There was only one-'

Vika didn't get to finish her thought as Nailah slammed into the mattress in the same manner as she did, colliding with the pillow directly beside the raven.

''Ohhhhhh, Nagaaaaa! This is even better than my bed in the capital! Goddess, I needed this.'' she moaned, stretching her tired limbs in every direction.

As the wolf's blissful trashing slowly died down, Nailah began to relax into the fluffy mattress, her eye lazily watching Vika squirm under her gaze.

''U-Umm, do you want me to sleep on a chair or something-''

Vika suddenly felt a rough finger over her lip, and she swore she could feel it softly caressing them.

''I seriously doubt you would be okay with leaving this heavenly bed right now, bird.''

Nailah's voice began to take a lower, more breathy tone as her finger slowly left Vika's lips and started to trace down the raven's neck.

''Besides, I still need to reward the handsome prince for such a lovely dance. Do you have any ideas on how I can show my...gratitude?'' the wolf leered, breath now hot on Vika's neck.

''N-N-Nailah! I-I-I don't-I-I'm n-not ready!'' Vika stammered as Nailah began to lift herself up, face directly above Vika's.

''You know, that little stunt you did really fired me up, bird. Your gonna have to take responsibility. Plus, watching you fly those children around made me jealous...now it's my turn to _ride_ you, Vika...'' she moaned, face inching down towards the raven's.

Vika shuddered as Nailah slowly lowered herself down to Vika's face, skin sticky with sweat. She could see the wolf's single eye glazed over with something, maybe sleep deprivation, maybe lust, maybe both.

''Nailah, no...Please, I...'' Vika breathed, her tired body helpless against the looming predator. That strange feeling returned and began to erupt throughout her entire body, whispering to let the husky beauty assault her. She was so close now that Vika could smell the exotic sweat on the woman. Just half an inch closer before...before...

_Smack!_

''...Zzzzzzz''

Instead to their lips meeting, Vika felt their foreheads collide, the raven yelping in pain as Nailah loudly snored, slumped over the raven with a small stream of drool leisurely dripping out of her mouth.

'She...she freaking fell asleep! After all that...ARGGH!'

Vika couldn't tell if she was relieved or disappointed. She at least knew that she was too tired right now to be angry and reluctantly relaxed in the bed's embrace, gently stroking the wolf queen's hair. The flush, sweaty skin of the woman on top of her was a sharp clash compared the cool night air coming in from the balcony. As she tussled Nailah's hair, she inhaled the sweet scent of the Hatarian, which mingled with the fresh smell of pine.

Vika's mind suddenly felt very clouded. The strange feeling hadn't disappeared from Vika's chest, preserving the raven's blush. Nailah's face looked so serene, so beautiful, as she sleep in Vika's arms. It made her heart throb and wings flutter as she stared down at the palely illuminated visage, her own face burning especially bright on a certain part of her cheek.

That kiss. What did that kiss mean to her? It was just like Nailah to do something playful and flirty like that, but when Vika thought back to it, all she could think about was how hot those wet lips felt against her skin, how breath-taking Nailah looked, bathed by the sunset. Vika numbly shifted towards Nailah's face, retracing the path that the Hatarian had earlier traversed to her own face.

''You drive me nuts, you know that?'' the raven muttered, face nearly touching Nailah's. ''Your stories make me green with envy, your groping and cheesy advances pisses the hell out of me, and your words... the way you make me so happy... it lights up my soul in a way I never knew was possible.''

Vika's skin was burning and her eyes had taken on the same haze as she earlier seen reflected in the wolf queen's eye. The feeling in her chest felt like it was going to burst from her body, urging her to go forwards. They were so close.

''Nailah...I think I...ahh...I..I lo-......Zzzzzzzzzzzzz''


	5. The Sound of Stars

Vika awoke to the gleeful chirping of birds and the warm embrace of sunlight. Defiant, the raven lazily tussled about the bed, trying to squeeze in as much time on the soft mattress as possible. As she was enjoying the fluffy stretch, she became aware that she was the only one on the bed. After a quick scan of the room, she realized her bed mate had disappeared.

'Huh. Nailah's gone...Nailah...!!!!!'

All weariness swiftly vanished from her body as she jumped up in a panic, memories of last night brutally sobering her up.

'N-Nailah! She almost...I-I almost...!'

Her mind spiralled out of control as she began pacing the room, head clutched in frantic arms.

'S-She couldn't had remembered r-right? She did have some drinks after the dance. M-Maybe it was just the booze talking...'

But that didn't explain why Vika had almost kissed her, or why she still felt so giddy whenever she thought of the desert beauty. 

‘I-I can’t really... her...’ She hastily decided to repress the thoughts for the time being.

'I-I'll just go look for her and the others. T-Things will work themselves out! Please, Ashera, make them work themselves out.'

Thus, Vika brushed her hair, fixed her scuffled clothes, and left the quaint room in search of her friends. As she entered what seemed to be the inn's dining room, she saw a group of people gathered around a large table, succulent looking food decorating its face. 

At one end, Rafiel and Tormod were entertaining some young women, the beorc boy comically attempting to stretch out his limbs in an effort to look taller, while Rafiel seemed to be having a panic attack as the women fawned over his good looks, the heron twitching nervously and trying his best to hide his wings beneath his cloak. Off to the side, she saw Muarim, Lila's father, and a couple of other men engaging in small talk, enjoying some very flakey looking biscuits with butter. She could hear them drift off into rumours of the rebellion, talk of how, recently, a small farming village was the site of a messy battle.

Finally, at the left most end and surrounded by countless admirers, Nailah herself sat, wolfing down omelettes and meat at an alarming speed. All the while, still managing at act charming enough to incite giddy squeals from her crowd. As if sensing her presence, Nailah chanced a glance in her direction, momentarily locking eyes with the startled raven. Vika felt her face heat up immediately as she numbly stared back, trying to read the Hatarian's face for any hint of emotion. It didn't take long.

''Oy! There she is ladies! Prince charming herself!'' the wolf said with a massive grin.

Vika fumbled backwards at the horrible shrieking that came afterwards and braced herself as a dozen squealing humans ran up and surrounded her.

''Eeeeeeeeeek! It's the raven!''

''Can you dance with me in the sky too?! I'll pay you!''

Before Vika's clothes and feathers could be ripped from her body, she felt a strong figure step in between her attackers and her, freeing her from the prying arms. 

''Move yer asses, youngsters! My customer's gettin' uncomfortable 'cause of you vixens!'' the woman shouted, a grinning Lila in one arm, a hot plate of food in the other. She then flashed a stunning grin at Vika.

''Good morning, miss Vika! I'm Lila's mother and co-proprietor of this inn! Please, take a seat next to your friend and enjoy this meal, free of charge!''

Vika shrunk at the sudden change in demeanour, both Lila and her dad chuckling in unison. Nevertheless, she accepted the woman's kindness, and more importantly the hot meal, and sat down next to Nailah, their fans now hovering at a distance.

The rest of the morning around the table was quite enjoyable, such that one would not think there was an uprising taking place. They learned about the many faces and names in the town and swapped stories from each other's colourful past. Vika's food was also made to perfection, with fluffy eggs cooked with butter and crispy deer meat, seasoned with herbs. Throughout all the stories and squeals, Nailah's demeanour never changed a bit. She still laughed with that charming carelessness and still smiled at Vika with her radiant smile. And Vika still felt that feeling in her heart at every word or look. She decided to leave the memories of yesterday night in the past for now. She enjoyed Nailah's friendship too much to jeopardize it. 

After their early buffet, the group bid their farewells to the village, much to the displeasure of many local girls, and headed off. The village had supplied them with a very large amount of fresh provisions as a parting gift, hopefully making their trek through the untamed forests of Gallia more bearable. 

As they headed down towards the Gallian-Crimean boarder, they noticed a much larger boarder presence than should be expected for two allied countries. Leagues of white-clad rebel soldiers marched about encampments, likely expecting the laguz to come to the queen's aid in the rebellion. It came as no surprise when their furry and feathered group was intercepted by a rebel patrol, spears pointed hostilely against them. 

''Sub-humans across the boarder?'' their pompous and overly-decorated commander said. ''The queen's rule is as weak as they say if mangy beasts such as this are allowed in Crimea.''

Nailah and Tormod scowled at the man and Vika's feathers rustled in rage. Muarim, however, kept his calm and stepped in between the two parties. 

''We have no affiliation with the queen, nor Crimea.'' he said with a steady voice. ''We simply are headed to Gallia. Let us through and we will cause you no problems.''

The commander merely scoffed and unsheathed his axe. ''As if I care about a sub-human's excuses. Lord Ludveck has ordered any signs of the queen's weakness to be stamped out and you mongrels within our country is criminal enough! Attack men! I want the green one's pelt on my mantelpla-''

Before his troops could react, the man was engulfed in blazing scarlet flames by Tormod, screaming in raw surprise and pain as the scorching magic burned through his untested mail. Muarim, who's face no longer seemed so passive, snarled and morphed in a flash of light before diving into the fires and tearing into the commander.

While the rebels were still stunned by the spontaneous combustion of their commander, Vika and Nailah wasted no time in lunging into their lines, slashing into the paralyzed soldiers before they could raise a lance. The skirmish was fast and brutal as they quickly made short work of the rebels, sparing those smart enough to flee. The incident, however, did not go unnoticed by the surrounding platoons and the group quickly noticed several cavalier riding towards them, weapons branded. 

''It would not be wise to take them all. Flee!'' Muarim commanded, picking up Tormod and tossing him on his back. Nailah did the same with Rafiel and Vika followed closely behind as the group raced towards the boarder. Luckily, the rebel encampments died out significantly the closer they got to the boarder, likely too intimidated by the Gallians. 

Well past the time that arrows had stopped hitting the ground, the five had already passed the boarder, the indigo glow of the night covering the land as the group perched on a ledge overlooking Gallia's Sea of Trees. 

''Pah! Just when my impression of Tellius beorc was changing, those furless bastards do this.'' Nailah grumbled, limbs sore from the sprint. 

''W-Why would they attack us like that? Is their country so divided that you could be welcomed with open arms one moment and with such hostility the next?'' Rafiel whimpered.

''I heard from Lila's father that the separatists, under a man called Ludveck, wish to dethrone Queen Elincia. They are too greedy and arrogant to understand all the good she has brought to the kingdom and see her kindness as weakness.'' Muarim stated, bandaging his right leg. 

As tragic as Crimea's plight may be, there was nothing the five could afford to do for the poor queen and her citizens, their own campaign coming to a climax. With heavy hearts, they set up camp on the ledge overlooking Gallia and began licking their wounds. As the moon rose high into the starry sky, the three men were still discussing their time in Crimea around the flickering campfire, while Vika was busying wrapping a cloth around a nasty wound Nailah had received on her arm from a stray arrow, the two women's legs dangling off the cliff face. 

''...Erg, knock it off Vika! I told you I don't need the damn thing.'' the wolf queen miffed, fidgeting uncomfortably as the night wind softly tussled her hair.

''I'm doing this for my sake just as much as yours. You got your blood in my dinner!'' the raven cried, memories of her velvety sweet bread being stained an ugly magenta.

''Bah, in the old days, drinking the blood of a true warrior was a supreme honour among the wolf tribe. I'll have you know that my blood is likely considered a delicacy in most Hatari cults!''

Vika's face scrunched up in distain. ''I think I'll stick to red wine, thank you very much.''

Nailah rung out with laugther, quickly amplified with the ravens own as the two slowly relaxed into a comfortable daze, lazily staring into the evening scenery. As Vika gazed into the shadowy expanse of trees, she could make out tiny settlements littered about and what seemed to be a large stone construct off in the distance. 

She sighed. They would be reaching Castle Gallia soon. How long would they stay together after that? For how many more mornings would she get to wake up to Nailah's scent? How many more evenings would she hear the little flair in the Hatarian's voice whenever she laughed at one of Vika's displays. The thoughts made the raven feel largely uncomfortable and needy. In a mild fit of impulse, she awkwardly squirmed her body closer to Nailah's.

''Er, N-Nailah?'' she breathed, trying to keep the uneasiness from her voice. ''W-Would you mind telling me another story about Hatari? I-It's been a while since you last did it.''

Nailah turned her back to the murky horizon and stared at the now closer raven. She had a light blush on her face and was twiddling her fingers intently, eyes shy and downcast. A smile graced the wolf queen's face. 

''You sure like my ramblings don'tcha?'' She rubbed her chin thoughtfully. ''Hmm...Last one I told you was about the laguz right?''

Vika nodded, eyes dancing with interest. ''Yeah! Err, you were in the middle of talking about the ave...avian tribes before... well, before you saved me from that bandit's arrow...'' 

Vika suddenly felt a lot more self-conscious as memories of that soul-searching day came back to her.

''You...You still had one more tribe to go, but I can't remember what it was...''

''Oh! The dune worm tribe!'' Nailah interjected, pounding a fist in her palm in excitement. 

A perplexed look run across Vika's face. A worm tribe? She couldn't imagine any laguz that would take the form of such an insignificant and tiny creature. How would one even fight with those frail, wiggly bodies. Sensing the raven's thoughts, Nailah gave a short laugh.

''I know what your thinking, raven. Hell, Rafiel had the same look on his face when I told him. No, the dune worms are vastly different from those lowly ghosts of an animal you see in the dirt. If I had to compare them to anything, I'd have to say they're most like your inhabitants of Goldoa, the dragon tribe.''

Vika jerked so much she nearly fell of the cliff face, Nailah reaching out a hand to steady the flighty raven. 

''T-The dragon tribes?!'' Vika squawked. ''N-No, Rafiel must have misspoke. The dragons of Goldoa are probably the strongest creatures on Tellius.'' 

''Then it seems my comparison holds water. The dune worms are the strongest damn laguz to inhabit Hatari.'' 

''W-What?! H-How- Worms are th-!!'' 

Vika was silenced from her hysterics by a soft finger on her lips, Unfortunately, this seemed to have the opposite effect as the raven trashed about, red-faced. 

''Haha! Peace, Vika. Be a good girl and do not interrupt auntie Nailah's story time.'' The wolf queen soothed as she retracted her finger, inciting an annoyed coo from the raven.

Nailah smiled as Vika slowly, and indignantly, calmed down, pride being momentarily suppressed as her ears twitched in anticipation of the story.

''Back to the bugs, the dune worm laguz may have the general body shape of earthworms, but they are leagues bigger when shifted. Most of them are 5 humans in length and have bodies thicker than tree trunks.''

''W-Wha-, T-That's friggin huge...'' Vika gawked, breathless. She had never seen a dragon in person before, but heard tales from Tormod and Muarim about how powerful and intimidating the monstrosities were, how they towered over any creature in the Hero of the Blue Flame's army and on Tellius. To hear that there were laguz out there even bigger than the massive dragons of Goldoa, left her awestruck. 

''Their size isn't the only thing different about them.'' Nailah continued. ''While normal earthworms don't have any distinguishing features on their smooth bodies, the dune worm’s 'head' is littered with jutting spikes and ends in this massive maw of a mouth, kinda like a bear trap, but with dagger-like teeth at every side and curve. They also have these creepy, beady eyes indented into their skulls, one on each side and two at the front, giving them impressive spacial awareness in a fight.''

''For a large chuck of Hatarian history, the other races didn't even know they existed. They lived in a very arid and isolated part of the Central Desert. Travellers who dared to traverse their grounds and survived, came back with stories about how they saw their friends being ripped apart by massive beasts that erupted from the desert sands, about how these creatures had skin thick enough, that even oxen horns couldn't puncture it. Goddess, I've sparred with plenty of the worms and even I have a hard time getting through their damn skin. If one of them manages to hit you with a maw trust dead-on, your finished. All those teeth backed up by a couple hundred stones of weight will splatter you across the ground.''

For emphasis, Nailah lifted up a patch of her robes, showing a deep gash along her right leg, dyed an ugly purplish colour with time.

''This was from a dune worm bandit. Not many of the worms defect from their leadership, but some get fed up with the elders. The one who did this had been raiding wolf colonies near the Ashen Cliffs for years with his little band and part of my training to be queen involved helping to take down the thing. Hell, all the half-hearted training with the worms in the capital did jack all to prepare me for that ugly bastard. Everywhere the guy attacked, splintered the ground. Saw a vulture get torn to shreds as the worm ripped through his armoured feathers like wood. Luckily, I managed to evade his maw long enough to rip a pretty sizeable hole in his skin, which allowed one of our dune worms to dig into and kill the damn thing, though not before the bastard managed to knick me across the leg. Heh, a little bit more to the left and I would have been a sexy smear across the ground! But with most dune worms, er, provided you're not trying to loot their sacred grounds and whatnot, they're real friendly! They love giving rides to kids on their backs and are pretty handy in construction projects. Just don't try to engage in conversation with their elders. Old geezers will talk your ear off.''

''Goddess, that's incredible...'' Vika breathed, her nails digging into the ground. She shuddered, goosebumps alighting her skin, as her mind once again returned to Hatari. Her midnight daydreaming, however, left the defenceless raven wide open to the lecherous hands of a certain wolf, suddenly finding rough arms wrap around her torso.

A voice behind her purred. ''So... anything else you want to know about Hatari, Vika? Perhaps something more...intimate?''

The raven stiffened at the contact. She would never get used to this. In a blur of babbling and sweat, Vika tried her best to steer conversation away from 'intimate' affairs.

''U-Uhhh, h-how, W-What's the landscape like in H-Havarti?!'' 

''...Pfft...The place has pretty diverse climates, though the land's overall flat...''

Vika could hear the massive grin in her voice.

''Weeeeeeeel, except wherever I go.'' 

Vika's body temperature reached Bolganone levels, as she suddenly felt two large, and rather soft, mounds press against her back.

''Landscape gets some hills wherever I travel.''

Vika soared off the cliff and into the air in a heated rush of embarrassment, her flight complimented by Nailah's booming laughter. The red-faced raven stared spitefully at the Hatarian, who was rolling around in a fit of mocking laughter. Vika's shame needing an outlet, the two got in a playful scuffle afterwords, both laguz fighting for dominance as the night was filled with black feathers and unsportsmanlike jeers.

''M-My queen! Miss Vika!'' Rafiel cried, the two and a half men momentarily halting conversation to watch the quarrelling women. ''W-We must stop them! They're dangling off the cliff!'' 

Just as he said that, Nailah had decided to jump onto the raven's back, causing them to drop out of view before rising suddenly, Vika fuming as the side of her head was buried in Nailah's loins. 

''Smash her good, Nailah!'' Tormod enthusiastically shouted. ''I'll give you a gold for every feather you knock off!''

''Haha, that height jape really got to you, didn't it little one?'' the tiger chuckled, patting the grumbling mage's red hair. ''Peace, Rafiel. It is laguz nature to spar. Speaking of which, how about you give me a go, prince? We could see if your kind possesses any hidden combat abilities.''

''N-No! I-I couldn't possibly handle a t-tiger! I-I'll...'' the heron started to quiver.

''Arm wrestle contest?'' Tormod offered.

''W-What?! I-I...''

''Er, a game of tag?'' Muarim tried.

Visible tears started to drip from the shaking heron's eyes.

''...Singing contest?''

The tears vanished instantly, fire replacing dampness in Rafiel's eyes. 

''Really?! Truly?! Oh yes, I always wanted to hear a beast tribe's songs! Please, Muarim, you start! And you can join me Tormod! Mages have knowledge of the ancient language, yes?! By the goddess, this will be simply divine!''

Muarim and Tormod grimaced in sync with each other, both surprised and horrified by the once soft-spoken heron's sudden vitality, his supposedly defunct wings flapping in anticipation. 

''U-Umm, y-yeah! That sounds like the perfect way to unleash your combat abilities! Y-You go first Muarim. You would want to disappoint a Serenes noble, would you?'' the little mage said, grinning sheepishly.

Muarim scowled at his adoptive son, his hair standing on edge at the thought of such embarrassment. Yet, as he looked into the vibrant and pleading eyes of his contractor, his resolve faltered, letting out a large sigh as his pride escaped alongside his breath. 

''O-Of course, my prince. My voice is yours.''

The tiger took in gulp of cool, night air. Between Rafiel's giddy smile and his little one's mocking mirth, he wasn't exactly feeling as confidant as a mighty tiger laguz should.

'Okay, so I never learned any of the tribe chants growing up as a slave. I-I can improvise. Er, Mordecai used to growl war songs when in battle right? Or maybe that howls of pain... Damn it, I'll improvise!'

Tormod covered his ears.

 

Back at the cliffside, the two women were still amidst their scuffle. Nailah had managed to get Vika into a headlock, while the raven was trying to propel the wolf off the cliff, the Hatarian having one foot on the cliff and the other dangling off edge.

‘’S-Say it!’’ Nailah barked, a mere three toes keeping her from being at Vika’s wrath. ‘’Cry mercy, Vika!’’

‘’Mmmpfff! Pah! Me?! You’re the one who’s gonna get a lesson in falling here! You first!’’ The raven cried, though she was in no better position, head sandwiched between the Hatarian’s arm and breast, with drool sprayed all over Nailah’s arm.

‘’Y-Yeah?! Well it’s time to tip-’’

**‘’NAAAAA, EEH-QWEN-YAAAAA, MA-MA-GEE-CHI-BA-VAAA, WAEE, EWENAAA-AHHH’’**

A horrible cry, which could only be described as a howl from creature in its last moments, begging for death, rocked their campsite, causing the two women to kneel over onto the ground, hands clutching their wounded ears. 

Looking back at the campfire, they quickly located the source of the dying animal. Muarim, who had suddenly grown deathly silent, was frozen in place with his hands thrown above his head and a look of pure terror on his face. Huddled together in fear near a log on the fringes of the fire, lay Rafiel and Tormod. The heron seemed like he was physically wounded from the outroar, hair fizzled and lips trembling, while Tormod quietly took in the sight of his father’s shame, mouth agape. 

The two girls simply stared at the dishonoured tiger for a moment before bursting out in laughter, the battle forgotten in their levity. Muarim sank to his knees and buried his flushed face into his hands in response, embarrassment hitting him like a rampaging wyvren, as Rafiel and Tormod shakily tried to cheer the distraught laguz up, the latter occasionally stifling a giggle. 

‘’T-T-That was very...u-unique, Muarim! I-I-I e-enjoyed it v-very much, really!’’ Rafiel said, though his shell-shocked eyes and traumatized voice betrayed his attempts at pity. 

Tormod’s bid at empathy was ever more incoherent beneath the frequent bouts of giggling, arms clutching his stomach as squeaks of amusement bubbled out of the little boy. Muarim only gave a haunted moan in response as his skull was pierced by the laughter of Nailah and Vika, whom were splayed over the cliff’s edge, echoing the tiger’s embarrassment for all of Gallia to hear. 

‘’Ha! That was one of the war songs of the proud beast tribes? If that’s what you guys sing before going into battle, then I can see why the Crimean rebels were so scared to get close. They’d die of laughter before they could get an arrow off!’’

Vika couldn’t get a word through her tears, arms pounding the ground in hysterics as the hearty squawking of a raven and howling of a wolf pieced the heavens. Slowly, their laughing began to die down, leaving the pair to stare up at the starry sky as frequent pants, still lingering with mirth, escaped their lips. The indigo canvas laid before her twinkled vibrantly tonight, so radiant, that clouds dared not tarnish its visage, leaving the vast expense free to parade its beauty in full. 

Their was something about the night sky that always enraptured Vika. On some nights, its was a cold shroud of pure darkness, nothing reflected from the once vibrant sky that played forerunner, proud to call an end to the bright dance of colours before it and gave nothing in return. Yet, on days that Ashera was feeling especially generous, the once morbid sky would bloom in such brilliance, hosting countless twinkles of silver that magnified its beauty, or those strange pillars of swirling dust, which seemed to be far-off clouds, but glistened with dazzling splashes of colour, so beautiful that the stars themselves would flock to the clouds, culminating in a breath-taking festival of light. During her time as a slave, she would sometimes stare up at those goddess-blessed nights and wonder if there would be a time where she too could shine free like those pretty stars did, if she had the strength to break away from the cold, dark, night shroud and dance unchained across the indigo sky.

As if sensing her thoughts, she felt Nailah’s warm hand slide around her shoulder, heat emanating from her hand as she griped Vika’s evening cooled skin.

‘’Night sky’s pretty tonight, isn’t it, Vika?’’ the wolf queen sighed, eyes fixated upwards with a calm smile on her lips.

‘’Mmm.’’ Vika smiled, relaxing into the hold. ‘’I love it when the night looked like this..’’

She pointed at a small band of stars, huddled together into a vague form. ‘’Father said that group of stars is the raven hero, Lehran, who patrols the sky in Ashera’s name. We would try to look for shooting stars together while mother cooked bear meat at the campfire. Aha, I still remember the weird smell! I don’t know why it tasted so good.’’

Vika’s finger than moved towards one of the dust clouds. ‘’Behna, an old tiger who I shared my quarters with during my time as a slave, said that’s Soan’s Mane. It’s where the great warriors of the beast tribe go to rest after they die. She said that’s where her husband was. Behna always tended to my wounds and braided my hair before she passed. Looking back, she would stare up at that place with glistening eyes, as if longing for the day when she could join her beloved. Funny, it looked a lot brighter before...’’

She suddenly felt Nailah’s finger trace beneath her eyes.

‘’H-Hey! What are you-’’ 

Just as Nailah retracted her finger, she noticed a small droplet of water coating the tip. As she put her own fingers to her face, she realized that trails of tears were dripping down her face. 

‘’I-I’m sorry! I-I don’t know-’’

‘’Shhhh, it’s alright.’’ the Hatarian soothed, silencing the raven with a soft finger to the lips. She then turned her face to the pale glow of the stars, a gentle expression on her face. ‘’To the wolf tribe, the night sky is where one’s memories are stored. Every person you’ve met, every moment of happiness, every moment of pain, is stored somewhere in those stars, waiting to be revisited by their bearer. That’s why each person sees a constellation in a different way. A group of stars my look like a blood-stained knife for one person, and the face of a caring mother to the next. It all depends on whose eyes they are seen through. That bear meat tasted so good because it was eaten in the comfort of your loving parents, and that dust cloud looked brighter back then because you saw it through the eyes of that old woman, who believed it held her shining husband. Those stars hold a different meaning to each person, yet their significance is no less. Thus, for every corner of the night sky you watch with someone, a new memory will be born from it.’’

Vika felt a silky hand envelope her own. ‘’Cherish those moments, Vika, and when you look back at those stars under a new sky, remember each happy encounter fondly. Never forget that those memories can never be taken away from you, nor can the time you spent with those people.’’

Dampness moistened her face as Vika gave a small smile, illuminated by the soft moonlight. Facing away from Nailah, she stared up at the starry expense, eyes drinking in their alabaster glow, as she silently searched the heavens for memories. As she traced the path to Lehran, she recounted riding on her father’s shoulders while her mother tickled her little wings, the smokey scent of charcoal invading her nose. As her eyes drifted back to Soan’s Mane, she remember her first time eating chocolate under the starlit sky, Behna risking life and limb to smuggle some of the sweet confectionary for the little raven to eat. Warmth cascaded her being as those memories flooded her mind. She could smell the campfire grill, taste the sugary taste of chocolate on her tongue, feel the embrace of her loved ones as she fondly remembered their faces. Suddenly, she saw Nailah’s finger once again enter her vision, dreamily tracing a path to the brightest star in the sky, shining almost as radiantly as the moon. A faint, bluish aura could be seen emanating from its corona.

‘’You see that star? To people across Hatari, it’s known as the Fire Emblem. It’s said to be the single tear Ashera shed after The Great Flood and contains both her anguish and sorrow for all of the souls who perished in wake of the catastrophe. During times of hardships, we look up at the star to remind us that, while the present may seem dark at the moment, if can reflect on past tragedies and learn to deal with them, then the future can be every bit as beautiful as the present is tragic. If holy Ashera could bring life to a world almost completely sunk underwater, if she could still create a sky this beautiful, then we, as her children, can carry on her torch.’’

Vika hummed softly, snuggling up to her queen. ‘’Hehe, you always know just what to say, do you? Thank you, Nailah. For everything. I’ll build a new world with these hands. For my parents, for Behna, for...you.’’ a light tinge of red heralded her embarrassment at the praise. 

‘’I’ll make it a world that everyone would be proud of.’’

The Hatarian smiled proudly, ruffling Vika’s hair, smitten. They watched the stars for a short while longer, recounting pleasant memories with each other in the cool embrace of the night wind, before Vika felt Nailah shift about, an oddly uneasy look on her face.

‘’Hey, Vika?’’ the woman said, her steely glare softening a fraction. ‘’You’ll...you’ll remember me whenever you look up at that star, right? Not just that story?’’ 

Vika simply stared for a moment, awestruck, before breaking out in a gentle giggle, much to the surprise of Nailah.

‘’Nope!’’

‘’W-What?!’’ the Hatarian cried, looking deeply crestfallen.

Still giggling, Vika brought her face towards the wolf’s own, their foreheads touching. She could smell that musky desert scent from the beauty, pleasantly mingling with the scent of charcoal from the campfire. 

‘’I don’t need some star to remember you, Nailah.’’ the raven breathed, a sweet smile adorning her features. ‘’You mean more to me than all the stars in the sky.’’

An uncharacteristic blush blossomed on Nailah’s face, causing her to scowl slightly, trying to hide the traitorous heat with her hair. ‘’Y-You...I’m s-supposed to be the smooth-talker here, bird. But thanks. You’re important to me too, Vika.’’

Vika only gave a knowing smile in response and returned into the wolf queen’s embrace. Nailah sighed blissfully and buried herself in the raven's soft hair in response, the two falling asleep in each others arms as Ashera’s night twinkled above them.


	6. Flames under the Evening Star

Vika awoke with a healthy yawn the next morning, savouring the taste of the crisp, morning air as the sunlight brought warm goosebumps to her skin. The sun had just began to usher in a new day and white stars could still be seen clustering in the last little bastions of night sky, hastily retreating from the sun’s powerful glow. Peeling off Nailah, who had used the raven as her own personal body pillow the night before, she made her way over to the campfire for some breakfast. Greeting her were the three men, huddled together in an awkward pile. Muarim was gently snoring in Rafiel’s lap, dry streaks across his face where tears likely once ran, while the heron was slumped against the supply chest, an uncomfortable frown on his face. All the while, Tormod happily snoozed behind them, cuddling his adoptive father’s tail like a teddy bear.

‘So much for night watch.’ the raven scoffed, yet still smiled at the mismatched trio before grabbing a piece of jerky and munching into the salty snack beneath the shade of a nearby tree. As the raven ate, the events of last night began to flood her mind. A crimson hue lighted her face as she recalled the intimacy she shared with the wolf queen last night, shaking her head in an attempt to relieve the heat. Despite her efforts, her mind still drifted to their talk. Memories she once though were buried began to resurface.

_‘’...iness, every moment of pain, is stored somewhere in those stars...’’_

Vika stared upwards towards the sky, eyes squinting as the sun peeked through vibrant green leaves and playfully blinded her. While she couldn’t see them right now, she still knew the stars were there, waiting under the blinding glow of Ashera’s day, and she still heard the story the faded guardians wished to convey to her.

Her vision began to blur as thoughts she had once discarded, slowly bled into her sight and mind.

‘’Behna...’’

-

_‘’Goddess, I thought these tiger sub-humans were made of thicker stuff! I should have known better than to bid on such a worthless, old, hag!’’_

_Little Vika’s heart skipped a beat as she stared at the morbid sight before her. The stack of books, once cradled safely in her arms, fell to the ground with a cascade of thuds, their pages flapping chaotically as the child felt the strength drain from her limbs. Her body and muscles screamed at her, yet she did not move. Her eyes wanted to pop right out of their sockets, yet she did not blink. The stricken raven didn’t even notice a scrutinizing gaze fall upon her._

_‘’You there, crow-whelp! I have a job for you. Better you sully your hands for this failure than I do. Now, come take this thing and...’’_

-

Vika wildly grasped her mouth shut as muffled screams filled her palm, violently jerking herself upwards. Hot tears began to pour down her cheeks as her body dimly convulsed in terror.

‘Damnit! Damnit!’ she silently screamed.

Despite what she told Nailah, the raven still wasn’t 100% at peace with her past. Every once in a while, the skeletons would come out of her closet and lash at Vika, her mind being filled with dreadful images and vivid screams. Agonizingly, she forced her body to calm down, her breathing slowly becoming less ragged. Vika wiped the tears from her eyes alone under the tree, trying her best not to look in the direction of the sleeping queen. Nailah had already done so much for her, she didn’t want to trouble the queen with her sob stories a second time. She wanted to deal with this problem on her own. Thus, the raven cumbersomely relaxed into the rough hold of the tree, still silently searching the morning sky for more pleasant memories.

 

The others began to stir shortly after Vika had awoken, lazily gathering around the camp pit to find some food. Muarim had a haunted look on his face, eyes unflinching as he monotonously gulped down his porridge. Rafiel constantly put an arm around the disgraced beast’s shoulder, unsuccessfully trying to cheer him up, while Tormod hastily inhaled his sweetened oatmeal, oblivious to his father’s suffering. Throughout the morning, Nailah constantly teased the worn tiger, making awful puns whose cheesiness only made them hurt more.

‘’Nice singing, Mufasa! Really ended on a _high_ note!’’

‘’Why are you eating so slowly? Are you not in _tune_ with breakfast?’’

‘’Nailah, could you please pass the peppe-’’

‘’Whoa there! I know you’re angry, but you don’t have to use that _tone_ with me, young man!’’

The other three giggled uncontrollably at the wolf’s dreadful attempts at humour. Even Rafiel chuckled through tears as he unsuccessfully tried to scold Nailah. Muarim simply stared on, body rigid and eyes dead to the world. As their meal wore on, Nailah had noticed subtle changes in the raven, such as her face, which would become downcast at random intervals, or her laughter, which seemed less lively compared to before. The Hatarian decided to leave the observation be for the moment, since Vika’s eyes seemed to beg for solitude. Nailah took a bite out of her bread, which was seasoned with a couple of pungent herbs and melted cheese. She would confront her about it when the time was right.

The quintet quickly finished up their early meal, and set off on the final part of their adventure, into the dense forests of the country of beasts. Gallia was a vastly different place compared to the two previous legs of their journey. Thick and bountiful forests dominated the landscape, containing far and few places that wasn’t covered in trees nor vibrant greenery. Tiny villages could be periodically seen, either constructed in one of the rare plains, or, more often, moulded within the forest itself, becoming just a part of the woodland as the trees themselves.

It’s denizens were just as foreign. There were many instances where the group would be aware of cats and tigers eying them suspiciously from the bushes, the slits of their pupils constantly focused on Tormod and Rafiel, the latter still wrapped around in his cloak. Any attempts to interrogate their pursuers would be met with the assailants swiftly retreating, leaving nothing but scattered leaves in their wake.

Despite the frequent stalking, it was a rather refreshing change of place for Vika, helping her forget the unsavoury events of sunrise. She took pleasure in hearing the soft crunch of twigs and dirt beneath her feet, seeing the white sun rays glisten through the bright green leaves of the forest canopy as the fragrant smell of flowers and wood invaded her senses. Vika liked to imagine that this was what it was like walking through the great forest of the avian tribe that Nailah had mentioned before, though judging from the visibly unimpressed look on the Hatarian’s face as she stared at the flora and canopy, it was a pale shadow compared to the sights Nailah was used to. Muarim also seemed to be returning to his old self, walking through the woods with a small bounce in his steps and happily tracing his hands through the Gallian plants, as if trying to make up for the time he lost growing up as a slave.

Near sundown, the group had decided to stop by a local village to get directions to the castle. As they ventured closer towards the town, they noticed a number of shifted beast laguz sprinting out to meet them, hostility written upon their faces and claws.

‘’Halt! What business do you have with our tribe, outsider?’’ a yellow cat laguz growled, eyes rapidly scanning the five, as if looking for weaknesses to exploit.

Muarim, ever the diplomat, cautiously tried to explain their situation, about how they had business at the royal palace. The beasts looked unimpressed.

‘’Pah! What could a bunch of nobodies such as yourselves have with the king?!’’ roared a burly grey tiger. ‘’Especially these two _humans!_ ’’ the beast growled that word with significant venom, before shoving his teeth right up to Tormod, the little beorc stunned at the sudden intrusion. ‘’I should gut this mage where he sta-’’

In a flash of light, Vika saw the Gallian suddenly trusted away from her eyes, the wind knocked right out of his maw as Muarim shifted and violently tackled the beast in a mere fraction of a second. He then proceeded to slam the grey tiger against a tree, eyes savage with fury.

‘’You dare threaten my little one again, then I will parade your guts around for all of Gallia to see, dog!’’

The unprecedented move caused the other Gallains snarl, claws and teeth bared as they took battle stances. In response, Vika and Nailah shifted themselves, while Tormod took out his spellbook, edging himself closer towards his father as fire engulfed his hands. The sound of insects crawling could be heard as the clearing descended into an unbearable silence, the two groups glaring at each other in a tense standstill, daring the other to make the first move.

‘’Cease!’’

A booming roar suddenly echoed through the clearing, causing birds to scatter from the trees in fear. All heads turned to the source of the voice. Approaching from the village, a pale, indigo, tiger proudly strode towards two groups, exotic markings woven across the creature’s face. As the newcomer started to revert, Vika was greeted with a rather surprising sight. The man that stood before them wore an concealing tribal garb, similar to the one fancied by the lion king himself, yet less extravagant. His features also seemed quite aged, noticeable wrinkles littering his face, his eyes barely visible in presence of them. His long hair and beard was dyed a very light indigo, fitting his coat, and bushy eyebrows stood vigilant above his eye slits, giving him a comically wise aura. The other Gallians seemed to forget all about the outsiders before them and throwing themselves to the ground, bowing as the old man drew near. Even the tiger pinned under Muarim nodded his head weakly in his direction.

As he approached, the indigo man gave a long sigh. ‘’Have I thought you youngsters nothing? Any visitors to our village is to be welcomed with open arms and directed to me, not given death threats.’’

The tiger beneath Muarim struggled in disapproval, hoarsely voicing his displeasure. ‘’B-But elder! There are humans among these-’’

‘’Silence!’’ The other Gallians shrunk as the elder‘s thunderous voice cut down any opposition, the grey tiger sinking down in fear. ‘’I will not repeat myself a second time, Apache. Do not talk back to me again, or it will be the second time I beat the naivety from your bones, pup.’’

The elder then faced Vika’s own group, a sudden smile gracing his face.

‘’Now, outsiders. I apologize for the hostility of these younglings.’’ He closed his eyes and took a long sniff, Vika stifling a giggle as the old man’s nostrils flared powerfully. ‘’Your scent echoes no hostility. Please, stay at our humble abode for the night.’’ He motioned towards the yellow cat from earlier, prompting the feline to revert and kneel at his feet. ‘’Tezka will direct you to the guest huts. Once you are done getting accommodated, I ask that you follow him to my chambers. I will answer any questions you have there.’’

The elder gave a parting bow before turning around and walking back to the village. Apache, the aggressive tiger from earlier, indignantly shoved Muarim off him, inciting a low growl from the greener tiger, as the shamed beast began to follow his chief back to the village along with the rest of the Gallians, leaving the only the fidgeting cat known as Tezka, an uneasy look on his face.

‘’Uh, sorry about that.’’ he grimaced, rubbing the back of his head. ‘’We recently received some disturbing news and are all a little on edge right now, especially with regards to huma- I-I mean, beorc. Please, follow me.’’

The group exchanged cautious looks before deciding to accept the tribes hospitality, following the cat back to Gallian village. As they entered the tribal community, Vika couldn’t help but to be astounded by the striking differences of the place compared to human settlements and even her own little settlement back in the Grann. While a couple of small rectangular houses could be seen dotting the village, the place was primarily composed of strange, triangular huts, seemingly fashioned from large branches, wide strips of bark, and animal skin, giving the little shacks a somewhat cozy, if not morbid, feel, as smoke gingerly drifted out of the tips. A number of Gallians could also be seen resting on mats, comfortably laid out on the grass, some in beast form, some enjoying the guilty pleasure of their humanoid form.

The majority of the tribe, however, seemed to have their attention focused on the group of outsiders, warriors warily observing the group as they passed while mothers tried to round up their children, who seemed rather interested in the new arrivals, little tails twirling in curiosity. Looking beside her, Vika noticed that Tormod was fidgeting nervously, eyes focused on the ground beneath Tezka’s feet and away from the discriminatory gazes of the Gallians. The mage soon found a comforting hand upon his shoulder, looking up with eyes befitting a child whose parents just found out about a failing grade.

‘’Cheer up, boss. It’s not like you to see you act your height.’’ Vika half teased, half comforted. ‘’I doubt Muarim wants to see his kid so sad.’’

Tormod only gave a half-hearted moan in response. ‘’Yeah, yeah. It’s just...I don’t know, what if I’m just causing trouble for you guys? What if the elder didn’t arrive on time, and people got hurt because of me!’’ His voice sharply escalated in a panic. ‘’What if Muarim-!’’ Tiny tears began to prickle out of the boy’s eyes, their existence quickly being covered up as Tormod shamefully wiped them away with his sleeve.

Vika could only tighten her grip. She felt empathy course through her body as she remembered the child’s face when Muarim was given the Feral One’s drug back in Daein, how helpless his tear-stained face looked as he watched his beloved father’s mind slowly degrade into madness. Her head also flashed back to their scuffle with the bandits and how Rafiel had the same look of shame Tormod did, his blood being his only sin in a country which objectified his kind. Were the laguz no different than the beorc? Are both sides just as at fault? Hopelessness filled her mind as dreams of a united Tellius began to crumble away.

Those thoughts were abruptly interrupted as Rafiel stepped into view and folded his arms over Tormod’s shoulders, as if sensing the negativity emanating from the two. Even with the cloak covering his wings, the feminine man still glowed with the image of an angel, his gentle eyes and smile only showing compassion as his golden locks danced through the summer breeze. The boy gave a surprised gasp as the sudden weight comforted him, like the mother he never had.

‘’Young child.’’ the heron whispered, in a voice so soft, that it was almost lost to the wind. ‘’I too have wondered if I have been a burden to others. When Nailah offered to return me back to my continent, I felt such guilt at taking her and Volug away from their homes. Whenever we come under attack, I bite my tongue in spite of my frail body, unable to fight as people like you bleed in order to secure my pathetic existence.’’

The blonde then dreamily arched his head towards the amber warmth of Ashera’s setting sun, hair sparkling with lustre as his peaceful eyes embraced the sunlight.

‘’But, that just means I have to try my best for you, my comrades. Every time your flames help keep me from harm, I will put that much more vigour into my galdrs. For each drop of blood spilt in my name, I will replenish it with my blessings.’’

The dazzling heron then began scuffling the mage’s fiery hair, lightly chuckling as the little beorc squirmed.

‘’So please, Tormod. I will stand by you the same way you did with me. All I ask is that you do not sell yourself short. Show these Gallians that you are worthy of their respect, and why you are worthy of ours.’’

Tormod merely gaped at the saintly heron for a while before shying away in embarrassment, nodding meekly in appreciation.

‘’I-I...thank you Rafiel. I-I’ll try my best: for everyone’s sake.’’

Muarim, who had been engaging in light conversion with Tezka, knowingly turned his head towards his precious son and gave the boy a proud smile. Tormod gave a light blush, well hidden beneath the glow of the sunset, before breaking out in a goofy smile and stoically marched on, a renewed bounce in his step. Both Vika and Rafiel laughed at the sight and even Nailah, who had been more preoccupied with the scenery, gave an amused smirk in the boy’s direction.

After venturing far into the village, Tezka finally stopped in front of two pointed hut, unique Gallian symbols painted over the entrance, likely to indicate its occupants.

‘’The males will reside in this hut and the females in the other. Please, unload your belongings and relax your muscles if you wish. I will remain out here and escort you to the elder when you are ready.’’ the cat explained professionally, swiftly facing away from the group and standing vigilant. With her sharp hearing, Vika could make out his elevated breathing rate, as if nervously pondering if his acting was done to the elder’s liking.

With a short wave, the party split up and proceeded to their respective tents, eager to unload the weight of their supplies and their minds. While picking up the tent flap, Vika became temporarily enamoured by the foreign texture and took a moment to slide the material through her finger, the soft animal fur gratifyingly pricking the tips of her finger as the raven began to explore more of the floppy door. A quick slap on the rear snapped her out of her stupor with a yelp, looking back to see the impatient glare of the wolf queen, anxious to rest after the long day of trekking. With a sheepish smile, Vika unceremoniously lifted the flap, wishing to be spared tired warrior’s wrath, and the two finally entered into their hut.

Stepping into the Gallian teepee was like stepping into a whole another world, the two flinching as they were bombarded with exotic smells and a sudden shift in humidity. The insides of the hut was unlike anything the raven had ever seen as she scanned the strange room, awe-stricken. A crackling fire was vibrantly lit in the middle of the hut, as if waiting to cook the day’s catch as smoke slowly wafted out of a hole at the tip of the room, letting in the sun’s dying rays in exchange for the soot. A number of Gallian furnishes could be seen dotting the floor, a wooden cooking pot near the fire, some straw beds lovingly laid next to each other, though the most eye-catching was a odd, metal trinket which was shaped like a lion’s head. Upon closer inspection, Vika noticed it was responsible for giving off the room’s strange scent, filling the air with fizzy, floral aroma that teasingly burned her nostrils.

By far the most interesting aspect of the interior, however, was the elaborate and beautiful paintings that covered the walls, the salmon-coloured flickering of the fire giving the illusion that they were dancing alongside the flames. On one side of the tent, powerful depictions of beast warriors prowled about the walls, faces and bodies painted fierce as they motionlessly stalked their prey. Another corner held one of the most enchanting images of the goddess Vika had ever seen, Ashera’s form proud, yet delicate, as laguz bowed at her feet, some offering gifts in worship. On the side furtherest from the wall was a much more sinister scene, portraying many savage laguz in battle with armour-clad humans, the intensity of the red varnish so vivid, that she could have sworn real blood was used in place of it. Gradually, the picture descended into a more traumatic aspect of Vika’s life, showing the laguz chained up and brutally beaten by humans, the expression of pain on the slaves’ faces hauntingly detailed. In the final image, so large it took up an entire face of the tent, the regal figure of lion was depicted heroically racing along the walls, and in his bloody maw, the bleeding corpse of a beorc, as smaller laguz ominously cheered on from the sidelines. Scribbled near the bottom was a jumbled mix of both Gallian and Tellius-speak graffiti, though the words seemed to be repeating a single phase.

‘’ _Our blood will never forget..._ ’’ Vika whispered, her eyes narrowing.

The sudden brush of a bushy tail against her feathers alerted Vika of Nailah’s presence beside her, looking up to find the Hatarian sweep her hand across the picture depicting the slaves as her steely eye flickered about the drawing.

‘’They are too proud to forget the misfortunes they’ve suffered in the past and choose to use it as a fuel for hatred and vengeance. Their blood will do more than remember if this is the path they choose.’’

The wolf then plopped herself onto one of the beds, lazily watching the smoke filter out of the tent. Vika eyes continued to linger on the graffiti, the words stirring up sinful emotions in her blood as they murmured promises of satisfaction, satisfaction that could only be bought with the blood of humans. She forced her eyes away from the treacherous words and stormed her way over to a dark corner of the hut, thoughts clouded as she unpacked their supplies.

The day’s events weighted heavily on her mind as she mechanically shoved rations out of her pack. Those laguz stared at Tormod with the same killing intensity as the barbaric bandits and bigot rebels gave her.

‘The laguz have a valid excuse for their hate. The humans deserve punishment for their wrong-doings.’ her mind tried to rationalize, yet her excuses rung empty as see pictured Tormod savagely assaulted by the Gallians, as she pictured other kind beorc who they wouldn’t have bothered distinguishing, such as Lila and her parents...

She quickly shook her head free of the dark thoughts and felt her arms sag in defeat, her mind in a spiral.

‘’Something on your mind?’’ a warm voice echoed as Nailah knelt beside her.

‘’Hmm, you can always tell, can’t you?’’ Vika gave a hollow laugh, eyes not moving from her still half-filled pack.

The raven sighed and leaned back on her arms. Her eyes numbly shifted attention back to the walls and roamed over the details in the paintings, as if trying to find an answer to her troubles among the drawings.

‘’I always thought that the laguz were the victims in every way, that it was the selfishness of the humans that prevented any progress in our relationship. But, when I think back to how the Gallians were so ready to slaughter Tormod, so eager to spill his blood just because he was a human, I get so confused. Why would they try to kill an innocent person? Why are the laguz so filled with hate?’’ Tears began to coat the raven’s eyes as she hugged her knees. ‘’Why was I so wrong...’’

Nailah gave the distraught woman a tight squeeze on the shoulder, yet her words still flowed out. ‘’What if I had never met Tormod, never met you, never met Micaiah, Lila, and the other beorc? Would I have been that different? So blinded by the pain of my imprisonment to some no-name bastard, that I would try to gut any innocent beorc that looked my way, just for some sick sense of self-satisfaction?!’’

‘’Vika!’’

A flicker raced through the raven’s once blank eyes as Nailah lightly shook the trembling girl. A hitch caught Vika’s breath as her ragged breathing started to ease down and the iron grip her arms had around their knees slowly began to loosen.

‘’S-Sorry, I-... It’s just I’ve looked at the whole racial thing in black and white for so long, believed in absolutes and generalizations while both sides had sins to bare. How can I justify my hate for the humans who enslaved me if I’m just as bigoted?’’

Nailah rubbed a comforting hand through the raven’s ebony hair, though Vika refused to lean into it, as if feeling unworthy of Nailah’s sympathy. The wolf gently smirked.

‘’You’re not that kind of person, Vika, and no one expects you to be perfect.’’ Vika gave a startled gasp as Nailah took things in her own hands and tenderly lent into the raven. ‘’There’s nothing wrong with wanting justice either. Trust me, I’ve craved for vengeance plenty of times.’’

‘’Eh?! Really?’’ the raven squawked, her image of Nailah too utopian to harbour any flaws. ‘’But, you’re so perfect...I-I-I m-mean...!’’

The Hatarian gave a snort of laughter as poor Vika splashed around like putty in her arms, red-faced and mortified. ‘’Too late, bird! But thanks.’’ She then proceeded to lightly nuzzle her friend, Vika half cringing, half relishing the sudden show of affection.

‘This...this kind of skin-ship among females is common in Hatari, r-right?’ she giddily pondered, trying her best to ignore the the velvety smooth embrace of the wolf queen’s skin.

‘’Nah, I’m a hot-headed wolf warrior who rules an entire continent. Of course I’ve given an eye for an eye, no pun intended. The difference, however, is that I only pursue my nature if it is a feasible and moral option. Even if some bastard were to spit on my family’s name and hurt many whom I care for, I would not seek out my thirst for revenge if it means that innocent people or the well-being of my countries suffers for it, for justice bought by immoral means is not justice at all.’’

Nailah stood up and began to run her hand over the wall paintings, her eye flickering over the many different shades of paint used, before turning it to Vika.

‘’I know it’s harder to see the world in grey instead of just black and white, but you’ll see so many more aspect of people, find kindness and beauty where there was never any before. If I had decided to write you off as some depressing, black-hearted vixen when we first met, I wouldn’t have gotten to know all your other amazing sides, like how cute you look when you’re flustered.’’ the wolf teased as her fluffy tail wrapped itself around Vika’s neck, providing just the reaction she was looking for.

The raven flailed about in a frenzy as the tail pulled her closer to Nailah’s rear. Her constitution failed her and the raven crumpled onto the floor, eyes spinning as steam rose from her rose-coloured face. Nailah laughed as she bent over and grinned at the raven, who was angrily pouting at the wolf, and offered her a hand.

‘’I would have regretted it so much if I never got to know you, Vika. So I continue through all the hardships and anguish of my outlook, so that I can treasure every hidden smile, frown, and laugh from people like you, and it will be worth it a thousand times over. Now get up, dammit, and stop making me talk like a bishop. We have stuff to unpack.’’

Vika gave a warm smile through all the heat on her cheeks, as Nailah’s kind words mended her broken soul. She took Nailah’s hand in her own and got up, giving a quick hug and a small squeak of appreciation to the wolf as she jogged off to a secluded corner of the tent to unpack, her chest threatening to burst with the strange feeling. Nailah amusedly chuckled her antics and returned to her straw bed, Vika working methodically until she was sure that the Hatarian’s eye was off her.

‘S-Stop beating so hard, stop beating, damn it!’ she mentally cried as the butterflies in her stomach begged to scream her emotions to the heavens.

‘Oh, Nailah...’

 

By the time Vika had finished packing (her heart was beating _really_ fast), the full moon had already begun to rise, a deep curtain of blue accompanying it as it rose into the sky. As they exited the tent, they saw that the village was lit up by numerous torches, dyeing the entire place in a beautiful, flickering orange, while haunting black shadows frolicked among the huts.

As they stepped away from the huts, the two woman were met with an incredulous sight: Tormod (yes, the human), was sprawled out on the ground and surrounded by several little Gallian children, all of them pulling and exploring the boy’s foreign body, while their mothers simply started on, some even with smirks on their faces, as their children got close to the human outsider.

‘’Hey, where’s your tail?’’ a little Gallian girl asked as she kicked and patted the mage’s backside, resulting in some yelps.

‘’And why are your eyes so floppy?’’ an inquisitive boy voiced, his tiny hands tugging on Tormod’s red ears. ‘’Haha, you’re a weirdo!’’

The other children laughed, along with some adults, and began to tackle Tormod to the ground, chanting ‘weirdo’ over and over against the complaints of the pitiful mage. A head poked out of the pile and the little girl from before, got up and ran over to Tezka, who had been amusingly observing the pileup alongside with Muarim and Rafiel, and tugged on his tail excitedly.

‘’Daddy, daddy! That weirdo lost his tail! We have to find him one, fast, or he’ll be a weirdo forever!’’

Tezka merely laughed as he heaved his daughter onto his shoulders, the child giggling in response.

‘’Beorc don’t have tails, Kimia. They don’t need one since they can’t transform. Now, tell the others to get off the nice man and go play somewhere else. Daddy needs to take him and his friends to meet the elder.’’

Kimia frowned a bit, as if pitying the tail-less boy, before plopping off her father and dispersing the crowd around the Tormod, the little ones still chanting jeers as they ran off to their parents as the mage lay exhausted and battled-worn on the ground, bits of his hair missing. Nailah went over and helped his half-corpse up before Tezka started to lead the group back into the shadowy village.

‘’Errrrrgg...’’ Tormod softly moaned after a long period of weak shuffling, his head loosely bobbing with each breath. ‘’I thought you guys are supposed to hate humans or something.’’

‘’Ha, the adults are, but the children are too carefree and curious to worry about such things when they have a new plaything. I thank you for putting up with the younglings, Mr. Tormod. They can get so excited sometimes.’’

‘’You seem very accepting of beorc, Tekza.’’ Rafiel offered. ‘’Back there, I could see that some of the other laguz also didn’t seem to mind...us either.’’

The cat nodded shyly as his eyes became lost in thought for a moment. ‘’I...not all of us despise humans. After the Mad King’s War, I, along many other from our tribe, went to Crimea to help in the post-war reconstruction effort.’’ a small smile tugged on the corner of his lips as stared up at the moon.

‘’They were so kind to us, serving us perfectly cooked foods and carefully tending to any wounds we received. They even went as far as to allow us to sleep in their homes. Us! The snarling beasts who had been vilified for centuries as being savage killers, they allow us to rest in the same house as their kin, putting so much trust in complete strangers to their land. You could have said that it was just them playing up the part, since we were helping to rebuild their country after all, but I could see genuine care in their eyes. People like Apache, who lost his family to slavers, can’t see any good in the race who took his loved ones from them, thus have a hard time accepting humans in our village. They’re good people, but are not yet ready to welcome your race with open arms just yet. Please forgive them.’’

‘’Of course.’’ the heron smiled, touched by the hopeful story. ‘’I will wait as long as it takes for them to be ready.’’

The cat smiled back in reply, tail twirling in appreciation as he continued to lead on. As they ventured further into the night, Vika had noticed quite a large crowd gathering around a big pile of timber in what appeared to be the town square, the laguz eagerly chatting with each other as they continued to dump wood into the pile. She caught a couple of them wearing strange outfits, robes of sorts, adorned with even stranger markings.

‘’Tezka, what is going on over there?’’ Muarim asked, his mind also fixed on the anomaly.

The Gallian perked up with a smile. ‘’Oh, on the night of a full moon, our tribe has a bit of a tradition we like to act out. If the elder permits it, the five of you could watch! It’s quite a mesmerizing spectacle if I do say so myself.’’

As they left the busy Gallians behind, the group began to approach a more extravagant part of town, the huts becoming larger and more detailed. Finally, Tezka stopped outside what was the biggest hut in the village, a magnificent white triangle with sprawling pillars of mahogany paint creeping up its walls.

‘’Here we are, friends, the elder’s hut. I must now take my leave of you and attend to other duties. Farewell, and I hope I see you all again at the town square.’’

The cat gave a genuine smile and ran off after exchanging goodbyes, as five wasted no time in entering the white tent, curious to see what the chief had in store for them.

As they entered the abode, Vika was once again hit by the strong scent of incense, a much more smokey and thick odour as compared to her guest hut. Along the wide, interior walls, once again stood extravagant, tribal artwork, though the painting which graced the elder’s tent seemed much more detailed and faded in certain places, as if artists from every generation since the dawn of Tellius had added their craft to the canvas. Numerous laguz could be seen racing along the walls, even dragons and the bird tribes could be seen, form abstract, yet gorgeous as they flaunted their wings and tails alongside their furry brethren. Surprisingly, beorc could also be seen mingling in with the crowd, some clad in fancy armour, some almost naked. All the pictures seemed to be converging onto a single point in the hut, where a depiction of Ashera, one even more beautiful then the one in her tent, stood, expression serene, yet intimidating. Sitting directly underneath of the symbol, sat the elder, appearing to be in the middle of some bizarre meditation, before slowly opening his tiny eyes and smiling at his guests.

‘’About time you graced me with your presence, outsiders. I was thinking that Apache had attacked you again.’’ the old one grinned, stroking his fluffy beard. ‘’I am Cuominin Neluma, elder of the Neluma Tribe. I trust you have been enjoying your stay here?’’

‘’We are honoured to meet you, elder Cuominin, and are indeed thankful for your hospitality.’’ Muarim bowed, speaking for the group. ‘’Though I wonder why you have decided to take in a group such as ours, during these troubled times.’’

An amused glint flickered across in slits. ‘’Yes, it is true that I normally wouldn’t invite any armed group containing beorc into our camp to stay, but I just couldn’t resist.’’ His eyes made their way towards Rafiel. ‘’For it’s been too long since I’ve had the pleasure of meeting a Serenes heron.’’

The rest of the group flinched at the elder’s unprecedented discovery, the cloaked Rafiel openly gasping in surprise.

‘’How...How did you know?’’

Cuominin gave an insulted snort. ‘’My boy, you may fool those hair-less pups with that pathetic disguise, but you’re a couple centuries too early if you think that will hide your scent from this old hound. I am astounded that there was another survivor of that dreadful massacre. How did you do it, boy? Indulge this old man.’’

The nervous heron flashed a look back to Nailah, whom, after a short moment, simply nodded in response. He also took a moment himself, closing his eyes and deeply breathing, a mild, white glimmer surrounding him, as the elder knowingly watched. For just a second, Vika could see a surprised wince blemish the heron’s beautiful face, before the blonde’s usual features returned, an almost sad smile poised on his lips.

‘’Very well, elder Cuominin. I sense no ill will from you. Simply put, I was not present during the massacre. Before that horrible night could befall me, I was captured by slavers and sold to a Begnion senator. After the massacre, I somehow escaped my confinement and reached a desert to the north of Daein, where Queen Nailah, over there, found and nursed me back to health. Her and a companion escorted me back to my home continent, where we now travel to reunite with my family in Castle Gallia.’’

The elder softly hummed as Rafiel finished his tale, eyebrows wiggling in thought. ‘’A very impressive feat for a heron. I know of tigers that wouldn’t have survived the pain and hardships you had to go through.’’

Rafiel bashfully nodded at the elder’s praise, before Cuominin began to move his eyes over to the wolf queen.

‘’I suppose I have you to thanks for saving this heron, Miss Nailah?’’ The elder took a strong whiff, much to the distaste of the Hatarian. ‘’How strange. You look like beast-sister, yet your scent is completely foreign to me. What are you, woman?’’

Nailah gave a little smirk as she got up and began to stretch, everyone eyeing her oddly, before recoiling sharply as a blinding light, accompanied by a proud howl, shot through the tent. In the aftermath, a purple wolf sat, shaking her coat and nonchalantly licking her paws..

‘’Wolf tribe. Come from a place beyond your Daein. Nice to meet’cha, Gallian.’’

The elder’s eyes widened farther than Vika thought was possible as he stuttered incoherently.

‘’Wha-Wha-, A-Amazing! I can’t believe...A whole nother species, still alive!’’

The elder suddenly shot up like a madman and sprinted over to his canvas, a loaded brush in hand, and frantically started painting, the wolf behind him grimacing, clearly not expecting the reaction.

‘’Er, yeah. I couldn’t believe it either.’’ she mused, shifting back into her humanoid form. ‘’Though, I gotta say, I’m almost disappointed, grey-tail.’’ a playful grin on her face. ‘’You would let an unknown wonder freely around your village? I could have been a dark god or something.’’

‘’I was confidant in my decision, outsider.’’ the man said, unflinching as his brush continued to move vinously and unhindered. ‘’A leader is in no position to be questioning his own judgement.’’

Vika felt the atmosphere around the wolf queen suddenly tense, as an uncharacteristically, low glint passed through her eyes. ‘’...A leader can make mistakes too. And when she does, she can’t just blow it off like nothing. What if I had killed your villagers? Could deal with the pain of that possibility? The guilt?’’

‘’Nailah! You can’t say that!’’ Vika whispered, placing her arm on the Hatarian’s shoulder in worry.

Nailah harshly shrugged it off, a dark glare on her face as she impatiently waited for the elder to answer. Vika recoiled sharply at the sudden hostility, hurt stencilled on her face. Just what was going through the normally mellow wolf queen’s head to make her act so appallingly?

Cuominin still calmly worked on his art, showing no reaction to the sudden change in pitch. ‘’If it had come to that, then I would have focused on finding a way to stop you and bury the dead later. It may seem cruel, but a true leader has to be sure in any decision they make and can spare no thought for what-ifs. If a leader is constantly plagued by self-doubt and uncertainty, than they are not yet worthy of being responsible for the lives of their people.’’

The glare on Nailah’s face abruptly morphed into one of wretched paralysis, her single eye shaking pitifully in its socket. Vika lightly gasped as she stared at her estranged friend. She had never seen Nailah look so vulnerable in all their time together. The beautiful and vibrant wolf queen usually looked so head-strong and indomitable, yet, looking at her now, she looked like a lost child. How the raven wanted to comfort her friend, just like Nailah had comforted her so many times in the past, but her failed sympathy from earlier stayed her conscious, inwardly cursing her worthlessness as tears threatened to escape her eyes.

The elder turned his head around in what felt like the first time in centuries, eyebrows raised in inquisition. ‘’Are you alright, wolf? I didn’t mean any insult.’’

Before the elder could see it, the look vanished from Nailah’s face. ‘’Y-Yeah! I-It’s nothing. Just thinking out loud.’’

He gave a slight stare, but decided to leave the issue at rest, much more interested in his painting.

‘’Anyways, I have finished your likeness, wolf! Behold!’’

Engraved to the right of the medallion, was the tribal image of a majestic wolf, splendidly decalled as the amber painting raced onwards, a serene, yet focused expression gracing her face.

A short giggle trickled out of Nailah’s lips as mirth returned to her, Vika sighing in relief. ‘’You sure know how to flatter a lady, grey-tail.’’ eyeing the mini her with an entertained smirk.

The elder blushed and chuckled heartily, pleased with her approval. ‘’Thank you outsiders. You have given me great gifts, both the knowledge of another heron survivor and a new tribe out there, fills this man with joy. I can now spend my last few decades in happiness.’’

‘’Last couple of decades, he says.’’ Tormod muttered, prompting another laugh by Muarim, as the mage pouted, slightly envious of the laguz life span.

‘’Hehe, they pass fast when you’re having fun, boy!’’ the elder grinned, eyes drifting up with the smoke from his fire place. A sudden gleam passed through his eyes as he noticed the dark night sky, the stars reflecting his twinkle.

‘’Ah, yes!’’ he cried, enthusiastically turning his face towards the group. ‘’I will give you directions to the royal palace tomorrow, but tonight, let our tribe show you a little something! A first taste of Gallian culture!’’

With a skip in his old feet, he quickly shoo’d the group out of his tent and back outside. As she returned to the cool, Gallian air, she immediately noticed a massive, orange glow coming from the direction of the town square. The tips of the huts almost seemed to be on fire from the intensity of the glow, casting long shadows across the ground.

‘’Elder! There seems to be a fire spending through your town!’’ Muarim cried in a panic.

Before he could race off, however, the old man strongly gripped the younger tiger’s shoulders, merriment reflected in his wrinkles.

‘’Now, now, pup! This is the kind of fire that Gallians embrace, not put out! Come, before it starts!’’

The elder then impatiently started shoving Muarim towards the fire, complaints still ringing out of the green tiger’s mouth as they ventured back into the village and closer towards the mysterious glow.

As they walked, Vika noticed the there was no laguz to be seen around the village. Only fireflies could be seen occupying the space where the burly beasts should have stood. Closer towards their destination, the faint ring of voices could be heard on the wind, a strange, rhythmic hum resounding through the night wind. The raven intensely pondered the odd sound, her sharp ears stretching out long. Slowly listening to the breeze which carried the sounds, she could make out a shaky pattern, the sound of...chanting?

Finally arriving at the centre of town, her thoughts were answered as she was met by a jaw-dropping sight. Where the large pile of timber once peacefully laid, erupted a massive, cascading fire, its height about three huts in length. Lit by the haunting glow of the fire, were the missing villagers, moving around the scarlet flame in an odd dance. Some were playing all manners of eccentric instruments, some with eerie chants on their tongue, and many with strange, white masks covering their faces, distinctly feline in nature. Parallel to the fire, Vika could make out two rows of wonderfully crafted drums, and behind them, maskless drummers stoically pounding away on them. She could recognize the tiger Apache, fiercely forging a powerful beat, bare muscles glistening with sweat.

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TRkzOgFCNg)

As the sound of screeching string rebounded through the area, Vika let out a startled gasp as a ghostly voice called out behind her, staring back only to find Cuominin donning one of the white masks and loudly chanting Gallian.

The strange gesture seemed to command the attention of the twirling tribals, swiftly parting away from the centre of the flames as their elder continued chanting.

Suddenly, a different, more high-pitched voice sung out, and Vika noticing a lone, masked child dancing her way into the centre of the stage, her lone chants mystically singing to the starlit sky.

She was quickly joined by numerous other masked children, loudly echoing the girl’s song as they spun about the square, sparkling embers from the bonfire dancing along with the white apparitions in a dazzling and breath-taking waltz. Vika watched their dance with amazement, the nimble forms moving as one as they flowed throughout their stage. They would lightly hop on one foot before skillfully alternating to the other, their rhythmic chanting never being affected. As the flames flickered brighter, the figures slowly began to converge into lines, each column moving like a single entity, giving the masterful illusion that only one child danced at each line.

The vibrant melody of flutes soared free in the wind and softly into Vika’s ear, signalling more taller masked dancers to join in on the performance, hair and tails flowing gracefully through the air as they dreamily skipped beneath the full moon, limbs soaring purposefully in the air. She saw glittering jewelry glisten from their wrists as hands leapt skywards towards the sky, cupping moonlight before twirling through the rows of children, the small forms ignorant to their existence as they continued to hop and chant, the beat of their voices bringing shivers to Vika’s body.

She felt so enraptured by the vivid scene, the velvety evening wind caressing her soft arms and carrying the dancers’ song deep into her soul where it pulsed in ecstasy. Tears tickled the raven’s eyes as her body become overwhelmed by her sensations, her mouth quietly starting to move on its own. Vika joyfully mouthed the words to the chant as her body pulsed along with the beat, looking around to see the others react similarly.

The raven gazed lovingly at the great, full moon, it’s size proportional the great bonfire beneath it as it serenely watched over the beautiful dance beneath it. The cold embrace of Ashera’s night was lessened by the amber, flickering fire which showered her in a soothing, warm wave, the heat making love to her skin. Her eyes continue to watch the white figures move, the children now breaking their line formation and twirling around with the adults, arms linking an rhythmic unison.

Slowly, the chanting and music began to die down as the dancers gently wafted backwards, giving Vika an unhindered look at the great flame. The radiant entity crackled in harmony with the soft hum of instruments as it strongly burned through the night. It seemed to whisper primal secrets to Vika, singing songs of times long past as it filled the raven with its consuming glow. It sung of times when it was lit under a sky that played home to creatures neither laguz or beorc, of when it was lit in the presence of the goddess herself.

As the sound of flutes began to surge stronger, two taller laguz slowly started to twirl closer to each other from opposite sides of the fire, their eyes intently focused on each other as they flaunted their majestic movements. Eventually dancing their way to the centre of the circle, the two locked arms and gently brought their masked faces together, as if pulling into a kiss.

Suddenly, a grand flash of light shimmered through the square, revealing a shifted cat and tiger where the two figures once stood. In a blast of music, the two leaped away from each other and began to frolic wildly about the fire, swiftly joined by the white-clad dancers, some also bursting into beast form as explosions of light littered her sight. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Tormod, numbly walking towards the fire in a trance. As he stopped mere feet away from the flames, the laguz oblivious to his presence as they danced around him, a strange glint passed through the mage’s eyes as a vibrant orange aura began to envelope his entire body. Tormod gave a confidant stare as he suddenly lashed his hands out and poured twin streams of fiery magic into the great flame.

In a majestic burst of radiant orange, the fire literally bursted into life, as god-like entities climatically sprung from the depths of the massive flame. Two colossal twin dragons roared as the lizards entwined each other before screeching to the sky. Multiple, grandiose lions, manes burning a proud red, joined the dragons in their roar, leaping across pillars of fire as they cried out into the night. The entire square stared, slack-jawed at the legendary spectacle, before thunderous cheering erupted from the the crowd, the tribals, dancing wildly around the fire, shimmering eyes full of life.

Vika felt a calloused hand fell on her shoulder and turned back to see Nailah, a wild grin bathed in  
a flickering orange, shining on her features. The wolf wasted no time in dragging the raven into the heart of the stage, staring up at the fire beasts’ divine ballet, as she started soulfully projecting her voice, the desert woman's troubles burning up in the flames as she howled beautifully to the tune of the instruments.

Muarim and Rafiel had also succumbed to the beat, the shifted tiger racing proudly around his son, a content look on both of their illuminated faces. Rafiel had began to blissfully sing soul-moving galdrs next to Tormod, his sacred voice showering the participants with even more vigour as a turquoise light encircled the fiery pillar.

The pure beauty of the moment became too much for the raven, Vika throwing away any self-control and freely dancing along with the rest of the square. Words began to flow out of her mouth, yet she did not know what they meant. It could have been Gallian, ancient language, or complete gibberish. All Vika knew was that the lyrics reflected the perfect luminosity of the moment and continued to sing out loud for all to hear, body and soul drunk with life.

Suddenly, the fire pulsed vibrantly, and an imposing, yet gorgeous figure rose from the centre of the flames. Vika then realized she was staring at a scorching representation of goddess Ashera herself, the other flame creatures bowing to her in respect. The goddess then proceeded to forebodingly fold her arms inwards, the fire now pulsing stunning shades of blue, purple, and white. In one swift and momentous moment, the fiery Ashera threw her arms upwards, summoning fireballs of multiple colours to shoot out of the pit and erupt dazzlingly into the starlit sky, fireworks bursting in an alluring explosion of light and showering the dancers in sparking embers.

Shimmering dust of every colour rained upon the tribal waltz, everyone singing, dancing, and laughing as the great fire burned on brilliantly. Chanting voices throbbed through the village as everyone voiced their delight to the full moon, the stars twinkling in envy. Vika could see Tezka, mask discarded and stomping the ground with a purpose as he, his daughter, and a young, pretty woman twirled about, hands linked and faces animated. Elder Cuominin had shifted into beast form and was powerfully howling to the moon in a fit of passion, grey fur flowing proudly as white and orange embers singed his coat. Even the stone-faced Apache seemed to be having a blast, pounding his drum with his heart in every strike, a great grin on his face as he chanted cheerfully in Gallian.

The huge flame gave one last powerful flicker as the fire beasts started to converge upon the goddess, the centre pillar glowing an intense white before detonating in a climax of vivid, scarlet flames, waves of fire flying into the sky as the performers gave a thankful and thunderous yell in unison.

The last wave shuddered out from the fire and the once great heart of hell rapidly began to fade away, the flames tickling down to nothing. The chaos of the ancient festival also began to flicker away, as the once frantic Gallians slowly calmed down from the episode, faces marry as they excitedly chatted among one another.

Yet, even in the wake of the draining performance, there still remained a buzz of excitement in the night, as many of the villagers hastily ran over to Tormod, ecstatic faces barraging the tired mage with questions and praises for the grand show he put on. The little one simply smiled bashfully at the ovation as Muarim stood behind the boy, his face swelling with pride.

The lingering festive spirit, however, had left Vika ignorant and defenceless to the overwhelming exhaustion in her bones, so much that she didn’t even notice her legs give out beneath her, the world becoming a blur of light. Meeting her instead of the hard, forest ground she had expected, was two pair of strong muscular arms, the raven hazily looking up to see Nailah’s face looking down on hers. The wolf queen’s eye gleamed through darkness as crackling specks of ash floated through the air between them. Her hair stuck in strands along her forehead as sweat glistened on her skin. Vika could a feel the sticky perspiration upon her arms as she held her, it clinging to her feathers.

Nailah gave little smirk at the tired-looking raven before hoisting her up and draping the raven’s arm over her shoulders. Feeling the Hatarian’s muscles achingly tense under her, Vika needed not to ask Nailah where she was going, and only gave a thankful nod and smile before letting the wolf queen lead her away from the square, leaving Tormod and the others behind to their crowd.

The evening air felt cool on her sweaty skin as the two made their way through the midnight village. Vika had also noticed that her sandals were missing, a tribute to the mighty fire as she was dancing her worries away. She gave a wistful sigh as remembered those few, precious minutes under the festive moon. Even among all the beautiful dancing and dazzling light displays, what she enjoyed the most was seeing the Gallians’ eyes light up at Tormod’s light show, to see them put aside their hatred for humans for a moment to enjoy the laughter the all species should. Magic was always a touchy subject for the laguz as well. It was the vile whip of the humans which subjected the laguz to pain and control, a weapon they had no means of countering during war. Yet tonight, they saw a new side of magic, the once despised weapon of war becoming a dazzling art-form and a beacon of beauty and spirit as it happily performed for the thankful Gallians.

‘’Hey,’’ Nailah muttered uncertainly, breaking the silence. ‘’about the way I acted back in the tent, I-I shouldn’t have blown you off like that, Vika. Sorry.’’

The raven blinked in surprise, before smiling and hardening her grip on the wolf. ‘’It’s alright. Are you sure you don’t want to talk about it?’’

‘’Maybe some other time. It’s nothing really. Anyways, what’d you think about that show back there, bird? Crazy stuff, eh?’’ Nailah asked, breath warming her neck as the two wobbled across town.

‘’Mmm, yeah. It was so beautiful.’’ the raven giggled. ‘’It was really a sight to see the laguz enjoy and praise Tormod’s little drama, even though they got so worked up about letting him into the village.’’

‘’Ha, no kidding! Didn’t know the tyke had it in him to create that firestorm. Prettiest damn thing I’ve seen since coming to Tellius.’’ Nailah paused and caught herself before lowering her eyelids and giving a charming smile. ‘’Present company excluded of course.’’

Vika tried her best to grin through the cheesy praise, but ultimately failed as a heavy blush coloured her face. ‘’You...you can’t stop being a flirt, can you, your majesty? Though I kinda doubt your words, Nailah, since I have this fuzzy memory of a certain wolf queen howling at the fire like a dog at a bone.’’ the raven quipped, playfully blowing a stray lock of hair from her friend’s face.

Nailah twitched as it was her turn to blush, turning away from the raven as embarrassment pinched at her cheeks. ‘’...I just like a good party is all.’’

Their lone laughs brought life to the dark, empty streets as they teased each other back to their huts. As they left the cold, night air behind, the two wasted no time in collapsing onto their straw beds, giving pleased moans as their tired muscles succumbed to the comfy cushioning. They stared up at the colourful walls and the starry sky through the hole in the ceiling before Nailah softly broke the silence.

‘’I had fun today, seeing all the Gallian culture and traditions. Maybe you could show me the raven home country one day.’’ she breathed, a twinge of hope on her voice.

A small frown touched Vika’s lips. Kilvas. That’s was the island most of the raven tribe called home and a land whose customs were just foreign to her as Goldoan ones. She spent all her life floating through beorc countries, thus doubted her if she had any connection to the raven homeland.

‘’I..I don’t know. I wasn’t born in Kilvas and neither was my parents, since most of my family worked as merchants in the Serenes Forest. I don’t know a thing about Kilvas, much less any traditions.’’

‘’Oh yeah? Ah well, then it could be a learning experience for both of us!’’ the wolf queen grinned, lightly twirling the raven’s hair. Vika still gave a skeptical look in response.

‘’Hm, just thinking aloud, bird. I just thought it’d make you happy seeing your homeland again with a friend.’’

A large yawn broke through the Hatarian’s mouth, her eyes becoming more droopy. ‘’Anyways, I’m about to pass out, so ‘night, Vika.’’

And with that, the wolf queen turned onto her back and closed her weary eyes. Before long, the sound of light snoring could be heard as Nailah drifted off into a peaceful sleep. Vika curiously stared at her for a while, watching her breasts rise and fall between breathes, before giving a small smile, eyes gently fluttering close. She absentmindedly muttered to herself as the sandman slowly began to claim her, hands tracing over the sleeping woman’s finger tips, detached with the waking world.

‘’Home is where your heart is. So...just stay with me, Nailah, for as long as you can.’’

She tenderly brought her fingers to the wolf queen’s cheek, cupping it with content eyes.

‘’No country compares to you...’’

With the strange confession dying on her lips, the raven joined her friend in sleep as she dreamed sweet dreams of experiencing grand new sights and travelling to far off shores, all within the sanctity of her loving ‘home’.


	7. History

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you like textwalls.

A strong ray of sunlight lovingly assaulted Vika’s eyes as it leaked through the hole in her hut, the sky behind it heralding a new day with a baby blue expression. The raven slowly lazed onto her rump and began stretching her aching limbs. She gave a satisfied yawn as her vision fell on the sleeping form beside her, who was still drunkenly mumbling parts of the chant from yesterday’s festival. A light giggle escaped her breath before lightly shaking the wolf, trying to coax Nailah out of her slumber. 

‘’Murr, piss off, Volug. Tell those bastards I’ll discuss taxes and crap when I’m...mmm...damn well ready.’’ the tired woman grumbled, eyelids refusing to open.

The raven gave an annoyed huff before resting her arms upon her knees and beginning to ponder on how to wake the slumbering queen. Her eyes flickered over to Nailah’s tail, which was wagging happily as it’s master enjoyed her nap. Vika hand slowly and cautiously made it’s way over to the furry appendage, before daintily gripping it in her palms, the soft fur pleasantly enveloping her fingers in it’s hold. Nailah gave a satisfied hum in response as she got even more comfortable in the bed, her rear poking up as if encouraging the strange violation. 

Vika affectionally ran her hand along the length of the tail. The thin strands of hair felt so incredibly soft against her skin, white blades offering no resistance as they were combed through by sharp fingertips. Vika could feel the thick, meaty part of her tail beneath all the hair, it wiggling tenaciously whenever the raven pressed down along its surface. So soft, so sensitive, so delicate...

_Yank_

Any and all sense of comfort was lost to the wolf as she jumped up with a mighty yelp, screaming obscenities in Hatarian with tears in her eyes.

‘’Ama! Earuk Osuk! You...you...Vika.’’

Nailah stood in irritation and embarrassment as she glared holes into the hysterical raven which sat before her, eyes squeezed shut with mirth as she roared with laughter.

‘’Haha, ha, ‘osuk’! Hahaha!’’

Nailah growled at the raven as brown hands massaged her assaulted rump. Suddenly, her features became deathly still as a dark thought ran through the wolf queen’s mind. She calmly made her way over to the still giddy raven before lightly grasping her chin and bringing it to her eerily passive face.

‘’Ha...ha...er, you alright, Nailah? Sorry for the rude awakening, but you wouldn’t wake up. There was no other way to get you going, so I’ll spare you the details. Pft! Details...Haha, oh I slay m-’’

Nailah lifted up the patch over her right eye.

 

The hut door burst open as a cheerful wolf laguz happily greeted the morning sun, greedily drinking in the fresh, forest air.

‘’Mmm, tastes like a new day! Oi, come on, bird! Can’t keep the boys waiting!’’

At the queen’s encouragement, a pale figure lifelessly shuffled out of the door flap. Occasional spasms would rock her body as her blank eyes stared fearfully on. 

‘’...Where’s your eye, Nailah? There was no eye in that socket. Nothing but suffering...’’

The Hatarian gave a wide grin as she playfully, and roughy, slapped Vika’s back. ‘’Bah, you’ll be fine! The effects will wear off once the map is clea-,I-I mean, after a couple minutes! Now come on, I wanna get going!’’ the wolf queen said, before grabbing the raven’s hand and dragging her through the the Gallian village like a ragdoll.

As the two raced through the rustic huts, they were greeted by the waves of a couple elderly laguz, Nailah enthusiastically waving back while Vika flailed helplessly behind her. Reaching the village entrance, the two saw that the majority of the tribe had gathered to see the outsiders off. A large group of children, and even a couple of young laguz ladies, was clustered around Tormod, clamouring for the mage’s attention as he gallantly appealed to their praise. He occasionally cast small spells within the palm of his hand, which resulted in happy cheers from the kids and excited squeals from the girls. Further away, Muarim and Rafiel were seen talking to Cuominin, flanked on both sides by Tezka and Apache, as they traced lines across a flimsy looking map. The two woman manoeuvred their way across the sea of bodies and over to the conversing men, the elder nodding to them warmly as they appeared. 

‘’Well, that is the general route to Castle Gallia from our village. If you follow that map, you should have no trouble finding the place. In addition, please accept these gifts from our little tribe, a thank you for all that you have shown and taught us.’’

Cuominin clapped his hands together, prompting Tezka to remove the basket from his shoulders and hand it to Muarim with a smile. It was adorned with a decorative symbol, one that Vika had seen sometimes sketched around the village, and contained a great array shiny, ripe fruit, all looking plump and freshly hand-picked.

‘’Whoa, I didn’t know apples could even come in that colour!’’ Tormod said, his mouth dripping in hunger, as he made his way towards his companions.

‘’Ha, I’m glad you approve, magician. The symbol on that barrel also marks you as allies of tribe Neluma, so you’ll have less hotheads breathing down your necks. Now, it is time you five took your leave of our village, for you have many important things to discuss with King Caineghis. Farewell, travellers, and may the goddess watch over you.’’

The crowd of laguz erupted into thankful cheers as they signalled their visitors off. Tezka and his daughter waved them off happily while children hopped up in down as their little ears twitched in gratitude. The group bowed sheepishly at their hosts’ kindness as they said their goodbyes. Before they could get very far down the dirt road, however, Vika noticed the grey tiger Apache running for them, stopping before Tormod with an indecisive face. The proud man suddenly collapsed before the boy into a kneeling bow, the redhead taken aback by the unprecedented gesture.

‘’Beorc mage. I...I have misjudged you. Where you have given me and my kin such a great gift, I have only given you hostility. I have no words to express my shame, so I only offer an apology. Forgive this foolish tiger.’’

Tormod gave a diffident smile at the man, crouching down to face the grovelling tiger. ‘’Heheh, no sweat, Apache. I...I know what my kind has done to yours. Hell, I’ve fought tooth and nail alongside many laguz just to remind those pompous windbags. But...yesterday, I wanted to stop fighting for once. I wanted to bridge our gap, make those amends through opening your eyes, not burning them further away.’’

The boy stuck out a hand. ‘’So, I forgive you Apache. Can you find it in you to forgive me? To forgive my kind?’’

Apache looked up at the boy as if he was Ashera herself, before breaking out into a honoured smile and taking the hand, the rest of the tribe watching happily as the two species made peace with each other. 

‘’Ah, M-Muarim.’’ the grey tiger muttered docilely as her faced the man. ‘’I have also been less than welcoming to you. You may not have been born in Gallia, but you are beast-brother all the same. I apologize.’’

The green tiger laughed as he clamped his hand on Apache’s shoulder. ‘’It is long in the past now. Besides, I attacked first! Regardless, thank you...beast-brother.’’

With one final wave and in a chorus of good-byes, the five left the Neluma tribe behind and headed off into the forest, Castle Gallia laying in wait. Vika spared one last look back to the village and breathed her last breath of the tribal air, it smelling faintly of incense and charcoal, before joining the others.

Muarim had detailed to the others of the route Cuominin had shown him in the morning. It seems that they were rather close to the royal place, half a day’s walk at most. Thus, the group firmly marched through the chirping forest trees, digging into the tasty looking produce that the elder had gifted them along the way. By the time the sun stood high in the middle of the Gallian sky, the five had already been walking for a couple hours, chatting idly with each other while finishing up the fruits. 

‘’Ha! Who knew you were such a little lady killer, kid!’’ Nailah had began to tease as they hiked through a rocky mountain range, ruffling the mage’s hair. ‘’Those tribal girls looked like they were ready to break the goddess’s taboo with you!’’

Violent sputtering shook out of both Tormod’s and his father’s mouth in response, the latter spiting out chucks of a bright bluish apple, some of it landing in Vika’s hair.

‘’Eww! Son of a- Muarim!’’

‘’Ba-Wha- NAILAH! Do not make such crude jokes like that towards my little one! I will not have you filling his head with such perverse ambitions!’’ the fuming father roared, his hands wrapped around the embarrassed boy’s ears. Nailah just laughed in response.

‘’M-Muarim. You don’t have to get so defensive. I...I’m old enough to understand how this stuff works.’’ 

The tiger’s eyes grow to the size of saucers.

‘’Wh-WHAT?! Y-You...my l-little one...’’ he grabbed the surprised mage and moved themselves to the back of the column. ‘’I-It’s time you and I had a chat, little one, about...about the birds and the bees!’’ the dotting father cried as his adoptive son stared in horror. 

The boy desperately tried to claw his way out of the hold and potential shame, but his father’s grip was too tight. Soon, Muarim’s awkward and colourful descriptions could be heard violating the air, Tormod’s horrified screams accompanying it. The other three chuckled at the episode of father-son ‘bonding’.

‘’My queen! How crass! The boy will practice abstinence for his entire life now after this talk.’’ the heron said through giggles, walking over to the two steaming men. Vika briefly caught Tormod grip his mouth as if he was about to puke.

‘’You really shouldn’t have done that, Nailah.’’ the raven smirked, clearing the last of the blue chunks from her hair. ‘’Muarim gets real protective about the boss sometimes.’’ 

‘’Pft! At least Tormod has some prior knowledge about the subject, despite what Mufasa over there may think.’’ the queen retorted. ‘’Tania was only a kid when I ‘adopted’ her and had zero idea what rutting involved. Goddess, I had never been so embarrassed in all my life teaching that kid.’’ A heavy blush sparked her face as she nervously scratched the back of her head.

‘’You know how I’m not exactly subtle when I drink a bit of ale?’’ the Hatarian asked.

A touch of red infected Vika’s cheeks as well. ‘’I’ll say.’’ she muttered, memories of drunken violations to the raven’s body filling her mind.

‘’Weeeeell, by some divine comedy, the night Tania asked me was the the night just after some of my clan mates had invited me to a little bit of a drinking party. So, lo and behold, when she approached me after I had returned back to the imperial place, I was still seeing two of everything. It...it’s not something I ever want to do again.’’

-

_As dark clouds slowly drifted across the equally dark, Hatari sky, the halls on the top floor of the Hatarian Imperial Place, echoed with the lone rumblings of it’s ruler as one black-hair beorc girl, no older than fourteen, sat rigid and blushing across from her, eyes silently, and ineffectively pleading for the shameless words to stop._

_‘T-This isn’t what my friends told me about, mother. Please stop, please!’_

_Her adoptive mother, the normally regal and proud wolf queen of Hatari, now sat swaying on a pile of silk cushions, clothes slipping off and absolutely reeking of alcohol. The words that had been pouring out of her mouth for the past half hour, had been some of the foul, crude, and disgusting things she had ever heard leave her once perfect mother’s lips._

_‘’Paaaahhaha! I can’t believe thas stuupid owl thought tat the oxe’s dodad would fit in thare! Damn white-wings ain’t as smart as they think! Where wazi? Ohhh yeah. Ya know that feelin ya got when ya successsivefully thrust a lance through your opponent’s thick-ass armour and take tha bastard down a peg? That’s pretty much sex. Aahahahaha!- Oh wait. You’ra girl, ain’t cha?...Bwahahahah!’’_

_Tania felt like she was burning a hole through the ground. Tears threatened to leak out of her eyes. She had never seen her mother, her queen, so impaired. Why was she stupid enough to ask her about something like sex when her mom was swaying about the palace like a vulture with no wings._

_‘’Or, if yar like yar good-old momma over here, you’ll find out that the touch of another woman is muuuuuch more superiorerer. When they do the do, thars a lot more lovin, and...rubbing involved.’’_

_The little girl’s eye’s widened in terror as she saw the blush on her mother’s face deepen and her eyes lower seductively. Her body felt so paralyzed that her muscles made no inclination to move as Nailah sultrily crawled her way over to her, tail and rump swaying with each motion._

_‘’My, you’ve grown a lot since we first met, didn’t you, Tania?’’ A creamy hand gradually moved over her shoulder and down to the tips of her fingertips, where it lovingly intertwined with Tania’s own. She could only shudder as Nailah bent over and took a long sniff of the girl’s neck, her own nose taking in the scent of her mother’s hair, smelling faintly of flowers through all the alcohol, bringing a small blush to her own face._

_‘’Mmmmm, what a nice perfume you’re wearing, Tania. I wonder if you’re trying to impress any of the little boys or girls in your class? Well, I can tell you that it works.’’ The wolf queen than began to place both hands onto the girl’s shoulder, gently and tenderly massaging them. The position left Tania’s face directly in front of her mother’s impressive bosom. She gulped as she saw tiny beads of sweat trace long trails of moisture down the woman’s breasts and into her top, which was hanging loose enough that you could almost see the full picture. Suddenly, Nailah’s face was right in front of hers, lust written over the queen’s eyes. She spoke in such a husky and deep voice, her breath hotly cascading over the girl’s face as she spoke._

_‘’You know, it getting really hot in here. Can you help mommy undress a little, sweetie?’’_

_A high-pitched whimper escaped her breath as Nailah started to move backwards, giving Tania a good look at her mother’s body. She knew her mother had a good figure before, as her more perverse friends like to remind her of, but she never realized how amazing it looked until now, with a beautiful, brown hourglass figure, big, shiny, breasts, succulent, creamy thighs. Nailah than took her hands within her own and slowly moved them along her legs and into her lower cloth, the human panting heavily as she felt her finger hinge onto her mothe-queen’s panties. Nailah hungrily licked her lips as she guided the hands downwards, the little teen shyly squeaking as she saw the white undergarments slowly move down and eventually off her mother’s long legs. Nailah amusingly discarded the cloth off the tips of her daughter's fingers and slowly began to speak._

_‘’Sex between two girls is a lot more complicated than it is with a guy and a girl. Maybe I should give you a little demonstration, huh?’’ the queen whispered._

_‘’M-Mom...?’’_

_Nailah just gave a hot smirk as her hands went down to her lower cloth and gradually rose it upwards, giving Tania a clear look at what lay underneath._

_That was too much for the young woman._

-

‘’YOU WHAT?!’’ Vika screeched, hitting the wolf with her pack as a furious blush shone bright on her face. 

‘’Ouch, quit it, bird! It stops there! Next thing I know, it was morning and I had a big, red, slap mark across my face. By Naga’s rack, Tania didn’t speak with me for an entire week after that!’’ she groaned, an embarrassed grimace on her face as she defended herself from the onslaught.

The raven gave her a dirty look. 

‘’W-What?! J-Just ‘cause Tania’s not blood related to me, doesn’t mean I’d act out some weird fetish fantasy with her! I just...get a little fired up when I drink, especially ‘round cute girls.’’ 

In a desperate bid at forgiveness, the Hatarian skittishly wrapped her hand around the raven. ‘’W-Which is why I make so many passes around you when I’m drunk!’’ she charmed, yet her voice had significantly less bravado than she was used to.

‘’...pft. Hehehe...Hahaha!’’ The raven couldn’t help but to laugh at the pathetic attempt at wooing her, Nailah smiling a tiny bit in relief, yet with the unmistakable look of shattered pride in her eyes.

The two walked together in silence after that. Vika chanced a glance backwards to see the father and son still in the middle of their discussion, Tormod begging the tiger to stop as Muarim continued, red-faced and carrying a passed out Rafiel around his shoulders, the heron foaming at the mouth. She chuckled at the more appropriate puberty discussion compared to the one Nailah had with her adoptive daughter (though not by a wide margin). An odd feeling took over her as she thought back to the lewd tale. She felt an odd, negative disposition to Tania, despite never meeting the supposedly sweet girl before. The sensation began to draw attention to other, mundane aspects of Nailah that she never would question, a touch of green on her features.

‘’N-Nailah. Who...who is this Naga person you keep talking about?’’ the raven grumpily muttered, hand waving agitated through the air. ‘’Is... is she like a...a lover...or something...?’’

The Hatarian just stared at her with a blank expression for a moment, Vika growing unusually tense as the seconds ticked on.

‘’W-Well?! W-Who is she?! You’re wife? As mistress? O-O-Or just a quick fu-’’

Nailah threw her head back in laughter, cutting off the raven mid-speech. Vika just stood confused and gaping.

‘’You’re...you’re jealous, bird! Little Vika, green with envy!’’ she snickered as the raven stuttered out excuses, blushing just as heavily as before.

‘’N-N-No I’m not! I-I...W-Well you still haven’t answered who she is! D-Damn you, Nailah!’’

The wolf slowly began to calm down as the raven stared on indignantly, Nailah wiping away tears from her eyes. ‘’Well, lucky for you, love, you have nothing to worry about (pft...my mistress...). Naga is the leader of the divine dragons and the goddess that we Hatarians worship.’’

The raven gawked in embarrassment as she realized that she had just compared the Hatarian goddess to a notch on Nailah’s bedpost. ‘’Wh-wha...goddess of- Why didn’t you ever tell me this?! What about Ashera?! I thought Hatarians worshiped Ashera too?!’’

‘’Holy Ashera’s teachings are still taught in Hatari today, but it’s not nearly as prevalent as before. Ever since the incident a couple centuries back, we redirected our faith to the guidance of the divine dragons.’’

A curious tint passed Vika’s face. ‘’Incident? What happened a couple centuries ago?’’ the raven asked, perplexed at how horrid an event could be to make people defect from the goddess’s teachings.

‘’Ah, now that is a very long story, bird.’’ she said, grinning at how the raven’s eyes lit up at the mention of the word ‘story’. ‘’Something happened to our continent once, a strange and terrifying schism, which threatened to wipe out all life on Hatari. In our darkest hour of need, the divine ones stepped in and saved us where the goddess stayed idle, thus we decided to put our faith in idols which responded to our plight.’’

The raven gave a light gasp as she moved closer to the wolf. ‘’T-Tell me what happen, Nailah. Please?’’ the Vika pleaded, a strong thirst for knowledge written across her eyes.

The wolf queen amusingly nodded and began walking in a more relaxed posture, getting comfortable before reciting the epic tale.

‘’This happened quite a while before you or I was born. A time where the laguz and beorc still quarrelled with each other like seen in your continent. The ‘Holy United Grand Beorc Empire’ and the ‘Trinity of the Great Beasts’ were engaged in the midst of a savage war. Tensions had boiled over and each side wanted nothing else but to exterminate the other and were completely devoted in gaining land and crushing resistance. They were so enamoured in their war that they failed to notice a great and massively powerful presence invade our lands. They failed to notice the arrival of the Earth Dragons.’’

‘’Dragons? Hatari has dragon laguz as well?’’

Nailah scratched her head. ‘’How should I explain this... Both the divine and earth dragons look like the dragon tribes you have here on Tellius, down to the whole human to beast shifting thing that laguz are known for. Yet, there is one major difference that separates them from common laguz: the dragonstones. Normal laguz, with the exception of us royals, can only fight in beast form for so long before reverting back into our humanoid forms. These dragons, manaketes as they call themselves, can fight for ages in their draconic forms. As long as power still resonates within their dragonstones, they will never tire and can reduce a province to ashes within a single stone use.’’

Vika placed a hand over her mouth in astonishment. ‘’Goddess... that’s amazing... How strong are the things?’’

‘’If Rafiel’s comparison was correct, than your continent would have fared just as badly as we did against the bastards. There were only a handful of the creatures, less than thirty, yet their might was absolutely terrifying. One earth dragon could take on five dune worms by himself, the strongest creatures on Hatari and the rough equivalent of your dragons of Goldoa. Due to some disagreement the things had in their homeland, the earth dragons fled over a massive sea to our unfortunate little abode and decided to claim it as their own. Humans were the first to get hit by the bastards. A small coastal town was close enough to see the flock of huge, winged, demons fly over the Great Ocean, their wings blocking out the horizon. The reports were sketchy, but it’s said that the entire town was reduced to ashes, the human soldiers being absolutely obliterated by the dragons. Among the earth dragons were weaker manaketes known as fire dragons. They were smaller than their brethren and significantly weaker, yet still was more than a much for our foot soldiers, having around the same strength of a dune worm. They served as a lesser race to their masters, but made up for the gap in power with larger numbers compared to the earth dragons, playing the role of a brutally effective infantry.’’

A hard look passed over the queen’s eye was she continued her grim tale. ‘’Soon the entire continent knew about the neigh-invincible creatures that had arrived on our shores. The dragons split into small groups, conquering the land bit by bit. One such group happened to wander into wolven territory close to the human countries. It was a heavily guarded strongpoint the Trinity had conquered during the war and was protected by some of our finest warriors, wolf, oxen and avian. Yet, even they couldn’t touch the earth dragons, only capable of felling two or three fire dragons before being swiftly crushed under claws and dark breath. In a panic, the Empire and the Trinity hastily ordered a immediate ceasefire to the war and joined forces in order to have a chance at repealing the invaders. But, even as laguz and beorc learned to fight and bleed together as comrades, the rampage showed no signs of stopping. By the time a third of Hatari was in ruins, our casualties numbered in the thousands while not a single earth dragon death was documented.’’

‘’A third...how did you ever...’’ The raven’s mind struggled to imagine how a people could keep going while so many lay dead and while the enemy showed no signs of stopping.

‘’At that point, we were almost ready to give up. Troops were slaughtered in the hundreds as they desperately tried to defend our boarders while plans to move civilians across the perilous Desert of Death were in preparation. Our moral was at an all time low.’’ 

A glimmer flashed through Nailah’s eye. ‘’That’s when ‘they’ arrived. One day, on another part of the shore bordering the Great Ocean, a small, multi-species army was in the midst of a fierce battle against a small platoon of fire dragons and their earth dragon leader. The commander of the Hatari forces was a well-known beorc general by the name of Cymbeline, a brilliant and powerful female hero with long, amber hair that shone like the sun, whom had won many decisive guerrilla victories over the dragons and had an impressive number fire dragon kills under her belt. Unfortunately, things did not seem to favour her that day. They were ambushed by the dragons while trying to evacuate supplies and civilians from a small town and her troops were getting slowly overwhelmed. While they managed to route most of the fire dragons, Cymbeline and her comrades were no match for the mighty earth dragon leader as the great hero lowered her lance in defeat and despair at the beast’s dark breath.’’

‘’Just as he prepared to deal the finishing blow, however, a bright, misty, ball of pure energy slammed into the earth dragon’s maw, the demon bellowing in pain as all eyes turned to the source of the attack. In a merciful parody of the events before, another great horde of flying beasts flew out from the endless expense of the Great Ocean, bathed by the sunset. At the back of the flock, numerous fire dragons, as well as thinner, blue dragons, flew gracefully above the water, eyes glaring at the lone earth dragon. At the forefront, a handful of gorgeous, sparkling dragons, scales dyed a brilliant gold, glided onto the land, the largest and most beautiful landing right in front of the earth dragon, mouth glowing. They say that the demon’s eyes grew to dragon-sized saucers and gave a guttural yell of anger and bewilderment before the divine dragons unleashed a hail of breath attacks, crushing the screaming beast in what was described as a savagely stunning meteor storm of light. As the Hatarian soldiers stood in awe at their new, draconic saviours, the leader of the pack, who spoke with the voice of the divine dragon goddess, Naga, softly landed in front of Cymbeline, serenity and respect etched on her reptilian features. She commended the woman for her bravery and strength against the dark dragons, before hailing Cymbeline as the leader that would lead Hatari to victory against the earth dragons, and the person that the divine dragons and the lesser fire and ice dragons under them, would gladly follow into battle. That beorc hero became Hatari’s first Lodestar.’’

‘’The news of new, merciful dragons appearing, along with the fact that one of the once invincible earth dragons had been killed, spread like wildfire through Hatari, moral levels soaring. Once the allied dragons had made contact with the main Hatari forces, they instructed our warriors on ways and tactics to beat the tyrannical dragons. For the beorc, they crafted sharp, glistening blades which would cut through even the toughest earth dragon hide. For the laguz, they taught them skills and magic which would sunder the demon’s defences and be the bane of the dragons. With these new weapons and skills at their disposal, the Hatarians resolutely struck back at the invaders, bolstered by their new, dragon allies. The earth dragons were completely unprepared for the arrival of their nemesis and the destructive armament that the foot soldiers now wielded. For the first time, earth dragons fell to Hatari steel and claws as our soldiers quickly took back the land that was stolen from us. At the forefront of many of these victories was Cymbeline, who had become a beacon of hope for Hatarians everywhere as she united species across Hatari to fight as one and bridged the gap between her kind and the allied manaketes, all the while falling many of the earth dragons. As the revolution entered it’s final moments, only a couple of earth dragon pockets remaining, a dune worm messenger suddenly appeared before the divine leader, bringing dire news. The dune worms, who had thus far remained isolated during both the war and initial onslaught, had fared better than the rest of the continent before the divine ones arrival, supposedly even managing to kill a couple earth dragons. Additional allied dragon support had only improved their power, managing to salve off many invaders to their land. Yet, reports of both the worms and the allied manaketes at the site had confirmed a large hostile dragon army, consisting of six or so earth dragons and dozens of fire dragons, preparing an attack on the worm tribe’s most sacred temple: The Hall of Chaos.’’

‘’Hall of Chaos? That’s a pretty weird sounding name. What’s so special about the place?’’ Vika asked, utterly engrossed in the story.

‘’Well, a long, long time ago, the dune worms came across a strange corpse outside their grounds. The deceased had bodily features completely foreign to any species that resided on Hatari and his body seemed to have been pushed to the limit just to die in front of the worms’ front door. Save for a few rusty weapons, the only possession the mysterious being had on his body was a ominous, ornate, box, lined with beautiful gold engravings. The dune worm guards that found the box recalled that the object seemed to resonate with an odd hum, one that made them feel very uncomfortable. Presenting the anomaly to their council, the high king of the dune worm tribe, Elder Treshunara, held the box for only a second before immediately dropping it, panting feverishly. He then decreed that a temple be built to act as a storehouse for the object, one built away from prying eyes and heavily guarded. When asked about his sudden decision and on basis for his actions, Treshunara merely said that the contents of the box held a power unimaginable and would corrupt lesser minds. Thus, The Hall of Chaos was built, named after the sinister properties the object has on people in its vicinity.’’

‘’Anyways, back to the dragons, the worms were stretched thin, fighting the creatures on multiple fronts, while a destructive strike platoon was about to assault the temple which held an object of immense power. They asked for our help regarding the matter as well as troops. While many were weary to help the dune worms after they had stood alone for so long, the divine leader seemed to sense a great danger from the situation and answered the messenger’s request, leading an army of her finest dragons, along with Cymbeline and many seasoned Hatari troops, to confront the last remnants of the earth dragons. Upon arriving at the temple, the army was met with a brutal sight. Dozens of red dragons, ice dragons, dune worms, and even divine and earth dragons were locked in a savage battle just outside the temple door, which lay hauntingly open. The bulk of the army was ordered to stay and assist the warring troops, while a small elite group, including the divine leader, Cymbeline, and Treshunara himself, infiltrated the temple to deal with any hostile dragons which may have entered. Navigating the ancient halls, the group eventually found themselves in the central chamber that housed the box, finding a massive earth dragon, likely the demons’ leader, flanked by two other earth dragons and a dozen or so fire dragons. They were in the middle of destroying a magical barrier, that the worms had implanted just in front of the box, before noticing their unexpected company. The resulting battle was one of epic proportions, as described in history texts and children’s stories alike. The full, united might of Hatari crashed upon the earth dragons in an intense and destructive fight, ending in Cymbeline striking and impaling her spear straight into the earth dragon leader’s chest, killing the foul demon as he gave one last, dying howl, and bringing peace back to Hatari...or it should of.’’ 

‘’The barrier was destroyed in the fierce battle, and while the others thought little of it in their celebration, they also failed to noticed that one of the earth dragons guarding the king had managed to survive its grisly wounds. In one last act of defiance, the beast suddenly rose from the rubble and clamped his great jaws down on the box, shattering it instantly. All notions of relief were wiped away as horrified eyes fell on a strange object that hung out of the dragon’s mouth, likely the contents of the box: one bronze medallion, a sickening miasma of black and blue light radiating from the object.’’

A loud gasp shot through Vika’s lips, eyes suddenly deep in thought. Sensing the queen’s question, the raven began to slowly speak, her breath shaky.

‘’N-Now, I don’t know much about the subject, so ask Rafiel if you want to know more, but there are legends on Tellius about how holy Ashera once trapped a chaotic, dark god within a medallion just like the one you described. Physical contact with the object is said to magnify the worst qualities of a person a thousand times over and drive them completely insane. It...it might be possible that, that box held the medallion containing the dark god.’’

A chill ran through Nailah’s body as her pace slowed a fraction. ‘’If what you say if true, then it truly was your medallion. As soon as the object touched the earth dragon’s skin, his pupils shrank to the size of beads and he suddenly erupted in a swirling column of dark purple, destroying half the bloody temple. Running outside, the group saw their victorious soldiers stare slack jawed at the sky above them as thick clouds began to darken the land. Looking up to the sky, they saw...something. The records state that the thing that was once the earth dragon from before, spanned an unearthly length in size, so incredibly massive, that it cast a shadow from the dune worm temple, all the way to a mountain range in the distance. It’s physical features were just as disturbing. Pitch-dark obsidian scales lined the creature’s entire body as three, carrion, feathered wings flapped slowly on each side of the colossus, keeping it afloat. Two huge, demonic horns sat on either side of the dragon’s head and its maw was lined with dozens of nightmarish blades, as if someone took the teeth from a dune worm’s jaw, magnified it a hundred times, and stuck it in a wyvren’s mouth. As it began to stare down at the army, six, beady, eyes could be seen glaring at them as they glowed with a evil, red aura.’’

‘’Suddenly, it gave a terrible shriek, rocking the sky with its howl and deafening the troops on the ground. Those who weren’t paralyzed by the cry, saw the corrupted dragon’s maw glowing with a sinister, black aura. It was clear that the thing was going to unleash a savage breath attack upon the helpless army, likely killing anyone within a mile radius. The divine leader foresaw this and in one swift, selfless act, charged right up to the demon’s mouth. Despite being smaller than the size of the thing’s head, Naga’s voice surrounded both it and the dragon’s maw in a powerful, crystalline barrier, the demon’s blast being contained within the spell, reflecting the attack upon it’s user’s head and vaporizing the noble, divine leader in the process. In the aftermath, the screams of the fell beast rocked the air as he mourned his wounds. His maw was badly singed and numerous teeth were cracking away. Red eyes could be seen flickering in pain as his wings waved about, causing heavy winds that could be felt even on the ground. As he calmed down, his damaged eyes flickered over the strange, diverse army that stood beneath him. He then cast his eyes over the Hatarian landscape, snout moving as if sniffing the air. It’s said he dragon gave one last, powerful roar before suddenly whipping his body away from the Hatarians and flying into the horizon.’’

‘’W-What? It just left? What did it do next?’’

‘’That’s the strange thing. It did nothing else on our continent. Many reports from civilians and ground troops report they saw the massive, dark beast fly towards the coast and eventually back across the ocean in which it came from, thunderstorms rocking the salty sky as it slowly disappeared into the horizon. The divine ones say that the manaketes came from a distant land far across the Great Ocean, a land called Akaneia, where the dragonkin were in severe decline. A humanoid species had driven them to near extinction and the proud earth dragons refused to accept this. Some of them incited a savage war that dominated Akaneia, while others, like the ones that invaded Hatari, deserted the continent in search of new lands where they could enforce their rule. A small band of Naga’s divine dragons, along with their ice and fire brethren, were sent to find and eliminate the violent earth dragons, before they burnt down another continent. Anyways, with the war over, and the our people saved, Hatarians across the land celebrated their victory over the demons, and started to praise and worship their dragon saviours like gods. As for the dark dragon, the divine dragons believe that it may have looked for a continent with less dragons on it to conquer, or even of returned back to Akaneia. The divine ones were weak and tired after the war, and could not go chasing a demi-god beast around the ocean, thus had no choice but to leave it be. Thus the manaketes, deciding that Akaneia no longer had a place for them, decided to stay and embrace the Hatarian people that they had fought beside and befriended over the long campaign. ’’ 

A happy smile graced the wolf queen’s face. ‘’Thus, the Hatarian beorc and laguz finally set aside their differences and began to rebuild their continent with the help of their manakete allies. In the ensuing centuries, Hatari enjoyed an age of peace and prosperity which it had never seen before and created a vast and unified empire. And that, my feathered friend, is the story of how the nation of Hatari came together and how Naga and the divine dragons repelled the earth dragon invaders.’’ Nailah finished with a big sigh, lungs strained from the long tale.

Vika, head still spinning from the story, nodded in appreciation as the two continued to walk silence, feet heavy on the mountainous terrain. 

Naga, leader of the divine dragons, saviour of Hatari. How benevolent of a goddess as to sent some of her own ilk, her own soul, voice, or whatever it was, to fight and die for the sake of lowly mortals. She wondered if Ashera would ever decide to do the same, coming down from the heavens and resolving the conflict between laguz and beorc here on Tellius. She promptly shook her head, berating herself for questioning the goddesses judgement, while her mind returned to the tale, a particular loose end she noticed needed tying.

‘’Nailah, what happened to that medallion after the war?’’

The wolf queen blinked. ‘’Oh yeah, forgot about that. Well, no one really knows where the damned thing went after the war. Teams who went and scoured the remains of the hall found nothing but rubble. Some say the dark dragon destroyed the medallion as he transformed. Other say that the divine dragons took it for safe keeping. Certain crazy, old cooks deny that there ever was a medallion, and that the whole dark dragon story was part of a government conspiracy to increase taxes or something. Idiots. Though, there is one story from a dune worm guard claiming that shortly after the war, he saw an extremely strange looking person, a heavily robed figure with wings dark as the night sky, fly into the temple ruins one evening, coating the hall in a dull, white light. As he went to investigate, he suddenly saw the figure swoop out of the ruins after only a couple of minutes of snooping around. He also said, that the figure carried a strange object in his hands as he left, and object that glowed with a dark, blue, aura. Of course, most people dismiss his story since anybody that comes in contact with the blasted thing goes completely nuts, but if you ever talk to the old guy, he seems to be extremely sure in what he saw that night, centuries ago.’’

‘’...Wait. You say the figure had black wings? And that they could touch the medallion without being affected? That sounds an awful lot like one of the goddess’s champions, Lehr-...whoa.’’

Thought of the medallion quickly left her mind as the group reached the top of the mountain range, giving a gorgeous view of the forest valley below, a cascading sea of green that stretched as far as the eye could see. Directly in the middle of the valley, a great, stone castle, by far the largest building they had seen in the country, rose proudly above the leafy overgrow, a little castle town of sort connected at the base of the structure. They were finally here: Castle Gallia, home to the beast king and the final destination of their journey.


	8. The Weight of the Ruler's Shoulders

The group sat perched on the mountain range as they stared down at their destination, royal den of the beasts and the home of the lion king himself: Castle Gallia.

‘’Oh...urp...is...is that the royal palace?’’ Rafiel whispered, body still weak from the violation of his ears.

‘’A-AND IF YOU THINK YOU’RE PREGNANT, PEE ON A TOME AND IF IT CHANGES COLO-...oh, we’re here?’’ Muarim was sweating heavily with lucid eyes as he carried a passed out Tormod in his arms. Vika couldn’t tell where the boy’s face ended and red hair began, due to the almost lethal blush on his face. 

‘’Hmm, I was expecting something more fancy for the home of Gallia’s king of beasts.’’ Nailah started, a disinterested look on her face. ‘’The oxen back in their mudhole have a nicer royal palace.’’

After spending a short moment to catch their breath and to appreciate the scenery, the five journeyed down into the valley below and towards the tall, stone fortress. As they reached the castle town, the group took notice that the bustling centre looked much like the Crimean village they had encountered earlier in their journey, numerous stalls set up along the streets, lined by well-crafted, stone buildings in place of huts. Unlike the village, however, was the strange looks that the group attracted. Even with the Neluma icon on their being, many Gallians shunned the odd group, growling and glaring at the two supposed humans in particular. Eventually finding the entrance connecting the royal palace to the city, their feet made headway towards the gate, only to be greeted with the sight of two, menacing, tiger guards, eyes cold as they made their way over.

‘’This song and dance is getting real old.’’ Nailah muttered.

‘’Stop right there! Why are a bunch of filthy outsiders doing before his majesty’s royal palace? Do you have a death wish?’’ one of the guards snarled.

Muarim opened his mouth to reason with the hostile beasts, but his words were silenced by Rafiel, a hand on his shoulder and an oddly confidant look replacing the heron’s usually serene features.

‘’Peace, Muarim. I am tired and wish to end this as quick as possible.’’ He then gave the tiger a stark stare. ‘’Besides, I need a shower after that little sex ed. you spouted.’’ he deadpanned, leaving the blushing tiger behind as he walked over to the looming guards.

‘’And what is a human like you doing in Gallia? Would you like to die firs- Hey! Why are you taking your clothes ooaaAAAUUUUUHHHHH!’’

In an unexpectedly bold move, the heron rapidly shed his concealing cloak off and spread his white wings as far as they would reach, body glistening in the sunlight. The attitude of the Gallians changed in an instant. Glares turned into looks of astonishment as a canopy gasps filled the air. The two slack-jawed guards reverted to humanoid form and collapsed onto the ground, many other laguz doing the same.

‘’I am Rafiel of the heron tribe and first prince of Serenes.’’ the sudden celebrity spoke, voice smooth and angelic. ‘’I seek audience with the King Caineghis in order to contact my family of my survival. Will you laguz answer my plea?’’

‘’O-O-Of course, y-your majesty!’’ the guard cried, his head not budging from the ground. ‘’I-It would be o-our honour! S-Someone! Alert commander Ranulf of this! P-Please go on through! A-A-And p-please forgive our insolence! W-We will accept any punishment you see f-fit for our disobedience!’’

The heron simply nodded as the other guard frantically opened the gate for him, the prince regally striding pass. Vika stifled a snicker as she passed the still prone guard as the rest of the group followed the heron into the stone palace, gate closing behind them. They then found themselves in a huge, decorated courtyard, dozens of handmaidens gasping at the heron’s sudden appearance as clothes and brooms dropped from their hands.

‘’Sniff, my little Rafiel is growing up!’’ Nailah began to tease as they moved forwards, patting the embarrassed heron on the head.

‘’Er, do you think it was too sudden? That one guard looked like he would have jumped off a cliff at my command, just to apologize.’’

As they arrived at the main pathway leading to the castle interior, a tall cat laguz suddenly came sprinting out of the building, tail twitching wildly. The man had a medium build and sky blue hair covering his scalp and tail. His two eyes seemed to conflict, one having a purplish colour, while the other was a minty green. Said eyes made their way over to Tormod and Muarim briefly as he came to a stop, a surprised smile momentarily forming on his lips, before bulging out as he noticed Rafiel.

‘’Soan’s beard! Those dolts weren’t lying! Tormod, Muarim! What the heck have you two been up to, coming here with a honest-to-goddess heron!’’ the cat exclaimed, a bounce in his feet as he impatiently waited for an explanation.

‘’Nice to see you too, Ranulf.’’ the mage smirked as Muarim bowed his head. ‘’It would be easier if we explained this all in front of you king, so do you mind escorting us to his chambers?’’ 

Rafiel nodded, seconding the idea.

‘’Oh! Y-yeah, yeah, of course! His majesty would want to see you right away. Come on then, gang. We got a bit of a walk ahead of us.’’ Ranulf then skipped through the door, leading the group into the long corridors of the lion king’s fortress. The interior of the Gallian royal palace was a very impressive sight. The sun had began to set outside and bathed the halls in a faint, orange glow through the glassless-windows, further complimented by the fire of multiple torches which stood along the floor. Beautifully detailed wooden furniture was littered about, some laying on colourful, woven rugs that brought a splash of life to the grey, stone walls. Many soldiers and servants within the castle saluted at Ranulf as they passed by, only to completely drop their composure as they laid their eyes on Rafiel, jaws hitting the ground. 

‘’I-I had forgotten how embarrassing it it to be looked upon like the goddess on stilt.’’ the heron nervously mumbled, eyes shying away from the piercing stares. ‘’Perhaps I should redon my cloak.’’

His jittery hands were calmed by Muarim’s as the tiger rubbed the heron’s strained back in a comforting fashion. ‘’Come now, Rafiel. Your presence fills them with hope and wonderment. Let them bask in a heron’s glory for a while.’’

‘’Muarim here has a great deal of experience in that subject, your majesty.’’ their guide snickered. ‘’Mordecai told me all about how you were moved to tears when you first laid eyes on princess Leanne. And during the Mad King’s War, he always had the biggest smile on his face whenever prince Reyson sung for him.’’ 

‘’Oh man, those were the days!’’ Tormod laughed, oblivious to the heavy blushing on his father’s face. ‘’You remember the time we fought that Bertram guy and the prince was ambushed by a wyvren knight? Good old Muarim raced halfway across the field just to take the hit for him. You could hear his purring for praise over the shouts of the enemy!’’

The two friends shared a nostalgic laugh as the tiger shouted defensively, much to the amusement of Rafiel. ‘’Oh my, it seems you are so much more smitten with my siblings than me, Muarim. Am I no longer your prince?’’

The tiger shirked his face away from the accusing stare of the heron, the others laughing, once again, at the man’s expense, as the three old comrades reminisced on memories past. 

Finally, as the sun began to disappear beneath the horizon (it really was a long walk), the six stood outside a very large and decorated door frame at the very top of the castle. A long curtain hid the contents of the room from sight with a picture of a massive lion head stitched into the fabric. 

‘’Well, here we are, people, Casa Caineghis. Don’t be intimidated by the big, bearded, men at the back. They’ll only bite if you bite first.’’

With that, the Ranulf lifted the fabric and ushered the group into the lion king’s chambers, The inside of the room was very spacious and held all sorts of Gallian statues and carvings, as well as many cushions and half-scribbled forms laying about. At the back, the walls condensed into a small corridor, square holes on each side of the walls that gave a gorgeous view of the sun-bathed valley below. At the very end of the hall, and surrounded by many advisors and flanked by two particularly muscular laguz, lay one huge, red, lion, mane flowing in the breeze with a frightening array of powerful fangs sitting in his mouth. Astonished murmurs spread through the advisors as Ranulf brought the group towards the king, Vika licking her lips nervously as she eyed the lion’s great brawn. 

Ranulf then kneeled before the beast, a small smile on his mouth as he bowed. ‘’Your majesty, I present you prince Rafiel of the heron tribe.’’ 

The murmurs erupted into full blown shouting, as Ranulf delivered the shocking news, ears twitching incredulously as they absorbed the news. The red lion slowly got up from his white mattress and made his way over to the heron, who was standing completely passive. Suddenly, the lion king started to shine, fur turning into silk, claws into thick fingers, as his body began to stand upright. Standing before them was an absolute colossus of a man, clad in white robes that seemed to barely contain his bulging muscles. An impressive bread hung around his jaw as a chiseled face stared down onto the little heron before him, before said features morphed into a big smile. 

‘’Today is truly a blessed day.’’ a loud yet compassionate voice spoke out, sending echoes down the length of the corridor. ‘’Never would I have thought that another one of your magnificent race escaped the clutches of that horrid night. I am King Caineghis, ruler of Gallia’s beast tribes. What can I do for you, prince Rafiel of the Serenes herons?’’

The heron, however, did not answer the question, simply staring fearfully at the hulking man before him while shaking in his boots. 

‘’R-Rafiel!’’ Muarim whispered. ‘’Say something!’’

A hearty laugh abruptly pounded the air as Caineghis roared in amusement, only serving to unnerve the heron further.

‘’Ha, forgive me, prince. It has just been so long since I have met a heron that acted like one. These days, I’m much more used herons who get fired up at the slightest discomfort, much like that of your brother, prince Reyson.’’

The mention of his brother seemed to snap Rafiel out of his stupor. ‘’M-My brother! Yes, you know Reyson?! Oh, please King Caineghis, please let me see my family again! I’d do anything to be reunited with them!’’ the heron begged, eyes pleading.

‘’But of course! Did you really think I would simply give you a gift basket and send you on your way?! I will dispatch a messenger immediately to tell your family of the news. You will be reunited as soon as possible, I swear on my title of lion king.’’

Happy tears swelled in the heron’s eyes. Rafiel then tackled Caineghis in a spontaneous hug, offering a plethora of thanks while the lion chuckled once again. His eyes then fell on Vika and Nailah, whom were happily watching the ecstatic heron. 

‘’Now that Rafiel’s matters are taken care of, is there something I can do for you two ladies? Do you seek an audience with me as well, raven of Kilvas?’’

Vika shrunk as she felt all eyes in the room fall on her, a flustered blush coming to her face. ‘’O-Oh, no, King Caineghis! I-I’m just a bodyguard, eheheh...’’

The lion king smiled at the bashful raven before turning his head to Nailah, who had been eyeing the man for quite some time. ‘’How about you, beast sister? Is there a reason you have come here, looking at me with those battle-hungry eyes?’’

The wolf queen joyfully grinned at the king, before standing right up to him, Rafiel moving to her side. ‘’Good eyes, red beard! Just trying to see if Gallia’s king of lions is as strong as they say.’’ she taunted, flipping a lock of her hair.

‘’Grr! How dare you speak to his majesty like a common soldier!’’ one of burly men snarled. He looked like a younger version of Caineghis, though his mane was much less impressive. ‘’I should have your tongue for such an insult!’’

‘’Skrimir! Silence!’’ the lion commanded before turning back to Nailah. ‘’I apologize, but while my nephew may be rash, his accusations are not entirely unfounded. Who are you, woman? I sense great power from you and your smell is extremely peculiar. What do you wish of me?’’

Nailah simply chuckled, before letting out a great howl and shifting in a burst of light, the crowd sucking air out of the room once again as she flauntingly paced about, wolf form and all. 

‘’Name’s Nailah. I saved Rafiel in the Desert of Death. I am wolf tribe and the ruler of the kingdom Hatari, a place far to the north-east of Tellius. Seems we have much to discuss, lion king.’’ she finished, smirking at Caineghis’s and his nephew’s stunned expression.

‘’I...wolf tribe? Hatari? There are more laguz outside our continent? First the heron and now this! If what you say is true, than we indeed have much to discuss! Perhaps we should clear the room? I suspect this will take quite some time.’’

‘’Oh, sure, I have no objections...buuuuut’’ Nailah suddenly shifted into a savage battle stance, surprising everybody as her teeth glistened in the sunlight. ‘’How about you and I have a bit of a tussle first? I wanna test your strength out for myself, lion king of Gallia.’’

Caineghis smirked in amusement at the gesture, yet did not shift himself. ‘’How interesting indeed, wolf clan. While it would please me greatly to test your power, it is not my place to fight with you now, queen Nailah. Please understand.’’

A whine of disappointment came from the wolf. ‘’Whaaaaat? That sounds like a fancy way of saying ‘I’m scared’, red beard.’’

The lion king did not flinch at the jeer, and his face remained calm as he spoke. ‘’I cannot suddenly engage in battle with an unknown in front of all my subjects. A ruler must not rush into a battle without thinking of the proper consequences first.’’

For just moment, Vika could swear she saw the same look of insecurity flash on Nailah’s face as from before, yet, just as last time, it was quickly lost on the wind.

‘’But, since my curiosity is so strong, how about fighting one of my subjects in my place? It would also be a good chance for you to learn some of the beast tribe’s fighting styles.’’ the king offered, Nailah’s face perking up at the offer.

‘’My king! Please, allow me to show this woman the might of the beast tribe!’’ the lion known as Skrimir spoke out, his ears twitching feverishly. ‘’I will make her pay for her insults!’’

Glacing back, the king took one look at his nephew and one at Nailah, before throwing his head back in a loud laugh, causing Vika to jump. ‘’Skrimir, no offence, but this woman could defeat you in mere seconds. You would not stand a chance.’’

A murmur passed through the crowd as Skrimir gawked at his uncle’s words, before hanging his head in shame. Caineghis momentarily pitied the lad.

‘’No, wolf queen, your opponent shall be him.’’ The king’s finger pointed to the other muscular man by his side, a tan laguz just as massive as the king and clad in pure black, from his clothes to his hair and moustache. ‘’Giffca, if you please.’’

‘’Of course, king Caineghis. You need only ask.’’ the man said as he proceed to walk up to the wolf, Nailah eyeing him wearily, before throwing his arms above his head and shifting into beast form as a great roar rocked the palace. The beast that stood before her was another lion, one that looked like a mirror image of Caineghis when he was shifted, except dyed a dark, night, black. The lion stared at the wolf with menacing, yellow, eyes, a great aura of power radiating from his being while he patiently waited for his king to give the command.

‘’Giffca is my faithful shadow, and almost exactly my equal in combat. He will be more than a worthy opponent for you, queen of wolves.’’ The king then stepped back onto his pedestal and waited, allowing the combatants to prepare before giving the go ahead. The rest of the laguz in the room gave the two warriors a considerable berth while Skrimir moved closer, eager to see the strength of the woman that his uncle believed could so easily best him.

‘’How strange that another species was able to survive the Great Flood.’’ the lion called Giffca rumbled in a deep voice, deciding to make small talk with his opponent. ‘’I look forward to learning more about your clan, and finding out how such a lithe creature as yourself can have a stance so devoid of openings.’’

‘’Heh, you ain’t so bad either, shadow.’’ the Hatarian returned. ‘’Though if you think that flattery can stop you from being a big, black, smear on the ground, you’re sorely mistaken.’’ 

The two warriors eagerly snarled at each other as Caineghis smirked from his throne. The lion king then rose a single arm into the air, the regal starting flag casting a shadow far across the room as the battlefield was bathed by a primal orange.

‘’Begin!’’

Giffca charged straight at the wolf before Caineghis could even close his mouth, the heavy lion racing at speeds that should not have been capable for his body size. Nailah was barely able to sidestep his crushing claw as the air beside her cried out in pain, though the wolf queen quickly recovered from her surprise and began to repay his ferocity in full.

The two then started their savage dance for dominance, claws slashing at claws, fangs biting at fangs. Vika quickly learned the true strength of the enigmatic lions as she saw Giffca roar and pounce after the Hatarian with brutal force, the ground rumbling beneath the beast whenever his paws hit the ground. Nailah, on the other hand, seemed to be showing off her tribe’s strength to the lions, racing around Giffca’s attacks with blinding speed and connecting many glancing blows upon the lion with her skill.

‘’My, my. I never thought I’d see the day where someone was able to run circles around the lion king’s shadow.’’

Vika turned her head in surprise, facing the cat called Ranulf, who had managed to slink his way over to the raven’s side without her noticing.

‘’Is...is he that strong?’’ Vika asked, watching the black lion toss Nailah off his back with a mighty roar, the wolf colliding audibly with the ground before charging back into the fray.

The cat gave the raven a queer look, as she had asked him if the sun was bright. ‘’Master Giffca? Well, he isn’t Gallia’s strongest general and the king’s most trusted consultant for nothing. The general could take on ten of our finest warriors without breaking a sweat. I should know, since I was one of them.’’ he mewed, rubbing a hand nostalgically on his neck.

‘’B-But Nailah has the upper hand right now, doesn’t she? Maybe she can-’’

Just as the words left her lips, Giffca, in a unprecedented move, slammed his shoulder right into the Hatarian as she tried to land another blow, sending her crashing towards the floor. Before Nailah could get up, the Gallian pounced fight on top of the wolf, Vika crying out with worry as she saw sharp claws digging their way into the wolf queen’s beautiful fur, staining it a dark red. Nailah’s hind legs kicked at the lion’s belly furiously in an attempt to shrug the beast off. A vain effort, unfortunately, as her feet helplessly bounced off in face of Giffca’s overwhelming fortitude. 

Vika could only watch as the black lion’s heavy claws pounded down onto the wolf below, who was desperately trying to avoid the crushing blows, blood pooling beneath her. Before Giffca could cause significant harm to the Hatarian’s lovely face, however, Nailah pawed at the fabric over her left eye and shoved her face right up to the lion, the mistress’s forbidden eye staring deep into Giffca’s soul. The rampaging beast suddenly became deathly still for a moment, yellow eyes spread wide and body hardening like cement. That was all the time the wolf needed as she leap onto the frozen beast and started savagely gnawing at his neck, the lion now animated in pain. Nailah continued her death grip on her prey, even as Giffca slammed the two into the corridor’s walls. As the lion’s thrashing became more violent, Nailah suddenly sunk her claws into the lions back before leaping off the creature, claws tearing up flesh as they propelled themselves off the lion. 

‘’Enough, enough, you monsters!’’ Caineghis yelled, face bright with amusement. To his side, Skrimir was intensely watching the two figures, nervous beads of sweat racing down his forehead in wake of Nailah’s brutal performance. ‘’Anymore and you’ll bring my castle crashing down!’’

At the king’s words, the two fighters quickly reverted back to humanoid form, breaths heavy and shoulders slumped. 

‘’Ergh...Shit...that...that was pretty decent, shadow. Seems like there are half-capable fighters on this continent after all.’’ the wolf queen admitted as she knelt, brushing away Rafiel who had ran up to her in an effort to heal the bleeding wounds.

‘’You...mur...you were also a very worthy foe. Your skill was testament enough to that. I did not need to see the eye.’’ Giffca said in a voice just as calm and steady as before, yet the way he clutched his side and the heavy limp in his step as he returned to Caineghis’s side betrayed is tone. The Hatarian chuckled through her injuries.

‘’Hope you don’t hold that against me. I use everything at my disposal when versing warriors such as you, whether it be unnatural eyeballs or a kick to the gonads.’’ Nailah joked, prompting a small smile from the black lion. She then turned her head back to her companions, wincing slightly at the movement.

‘’You guys go get settled. I’m gonna talk business with the head-honchos here.’’ the queen said through gritted teeth. Vika could tell she was trying her best not to collapse onto the floor. 

‘’Hrmp, then it is decided! Kyza! Lyre!’’ 

At the king’s command, two beast laguz swiftly stepped out of the crowd and kneeled before him. One of them was a male tiger laguz with a head of grey hair and wearing rather human-looking fatigues, a very professional air about him. The other was a orange haired, female cat, wearing a pink, standard Gallian outfit and had a odd bell hanging from her neck. She stumbled a bit as she knelt before the king, a nervous blush on her face.

‘’Take our guests to our finest rooms. Kyza, take the men to the male wing and Lyre, take our raven friend to the female wing. Tend to their ever desire.’’

‘’Yes, your majesty!’’ the two vessels yelled, the grey one a bit too loudly. 

Thus, with a quick wave goodbye to Nailah, Vika was lead out of the throne room and back into the halls of castle Gallia, led by the two guards. As they walked through the torch-lit corridors, the darkness of outside signalling nightfall, the group noticed Rafiel had began to hum slightly, an ecstatic look on his face as he practically skipped through the halls. 

‘’It is great news, isn’t it Rafiel?’’ Muarim said, putting a hand on the surprised heron’s shoulder. ‘’Your kin is alive and well and soon you will be reunited. I am glad we had a part in making that happen, my friend.’’

The heron gave a light blush and smiled at the man, before turning his gaze on all three of his companions. ‘’Yes...You have no idea how long I have waited for this moment, how many hours of sleep I lost imagining it. Now my dream is a reality, thanks to great efforts of all of you, my friends. I am truly blessed to have met you all and will try my hardest to get you everything your heart’s desire now that king Pheonicis is on his way.’’

Vika was touched at the kindness of the heron, putting a warm hand on the heron’s other shoulder. ‘’You don’t need to beg the hawk king for anything extravagant, Rafiel. Trust me when I say that all of us were more than happy to help you reunite with your family. The journey and the fact that we made such a difference in the life of a noble of Serenes is reward enough.’’ the raven smiled, prompting happy tears to form in the heron’s eyes before he mouthed a silent thank you.

‘’Pah, speak for yourselves but I wouldn’t mind some gold for my services!’’ the feisty little mage whined. ‘’And why are we talking about our ‘feelings’ when we should be talking about that crazy fight back there?! By the way, Giffca totally had Nailah on the ropes before she used that cheap ‘evil eye’ thing.’’

The rest of the group laughed at the boy as they descended into friendly arguments about who won the fight and generally enjoying each others company. Finally, their two guides, who had been bickering amongst each other the entire walk, stopped at the end of a rug-lined corridor, the hall branching into two separate paths.

‘’Say your goodbyes, ladies and gentlemen, for this is were you part ways.’’ the grey tiger called Kyza said. ‘’The men’s rooms are down to the left and women’s to the right. I will escort you three men, while the little miss over there escort lady raven. Do be careful, Lyre. I wouldn’t want to report to the commander that you failed such a simple task.’’

The cat merely stuck her tongue out at the tiger as Vika said her goodbyes to the men as they disappeared down the hallway, leaving her alone with the cat known as Lyre, who still had her tongue out in the air. The cat blinked as she eventually noticed the raven’s uncomfortable eyes on her, snapping upright in an instant.

‘’O-Oh! S-Sorry about that, rave-I-I mean, h-honoured guest! L-Let me s-show you to your room!’’ The cat then raced down the hall in embarrassment as Vika hurried to catch up with her.

After Lyre had slowed her pace, the two walked in silence down the dark halls leading to the women’s rooms, eyes awkwardly trained on the ground. Vika fidgeted uncomfortably at the uncomfortable air between the women, before deciding to attempt at small talk with the cat. 

‘’S-So...Miss Lyre, right? W-What’s it like, being an advisor to the king?’’

The cat jumped up in surprise at the sudden voice, fur standing up straight. She looked back at the raven with wide, purple eyes, before sighing and moving next to her guest, eyes calming down.

‘’I’m not an advisor to the king. Kyza isn’t either, but he does have connections in higher places. We were only there because we happened to be delivering some news to the king during your arrival. I’m just a regular foot soldier.’’ she finished, sounding somewhat melancholy.

Vika lowered her eyebrows in confusion. ‘’But the king knew you by name. You’re giving yourself too little credit, don’t you think?’’

Lyre pursed her lips inwards. ‘’The only reason his majesty knows my name is because my older sister is a big shot in the military. She fought in general Ike’s army during The Mad King’s War and returned to Gallia as a bonafide war hero.’’ The cat gave a bit of a grimace, though not in jealousy. ‘’Big sis is the only reason why anyone would even take a second look at little me.’’

Vika looked on in pity as she stared at the crestfallen laguz. Poor thing’s self-esteem must have been deflated in the shadow of her sister, believing that her actions wouldn’t stand up to her sister’s high standards. Vika orftenfelt that way as a slave, everyday fearing that her performance would be sub-par in her master’s eyes and would lead to beatings. She didn’t want the cute little cat before her to feel the same pain, thus put a comforting arm around the woman’s shoulders, Lyre yelping as Vika pulled her closer.

‘’You really are selling your self short. You seem like a great person to me, miss Lyre.’’ the raven soothed, giving the cat a warm smile. ‘’That name’s Vika, by the way. Could you be my friend and show me around Gallia during my stay here? I would really appreciate it.’’

Much to the raven’s mirth, the cat’s eyes grew to the size as dinner plates as she absorbed the outsider’s kind words, mouth open in an adorable little ‘o’. ‘’Y-You want to be friends? With me?’’ 

Vika held in a giggle as she nodded her head, eyes shining with sincerity. Lyre’s mouth formed into a big, dopy, smile as she suddenly tackled the raven in a tight hug, giddy purring rumbling in her throat. 

‘’Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you! You’re the first friend I ever made in the military that didn’t do it just ‘cause I’m Lethe’s sister! We can go shopping together, do each other’s hair, talk about cute boys! Oh, speaking of which, you met commander Ranulf when her escorted you and the heron today, right?! Isn’t he dreamy? So strong and handsome!’’ the cat prattled, elated with her newfound friend.

Vika stared back blankly, overwhelmed by the sudden rush of words. ‘’Um, he’s very...blue?’’

‘’Blue?! He’s the bluest, damn cat in the entire army! I wish he would pay more attention to me. I always try to look my best in front of the hunk! Oh, but enough about that, I want to know all about you, Vika! Your past, your hobbies, what suit you think Ranulf would look hottest in- ouch!’’

In her jubilation, Lyre had missed the large, wooden door directly in front of her, slamming into it as she rubbed her tender nose. ‘’Oh, we’re at the guest room already...’’

The little cat gave a small blush as she rubbed her head sheepishly. ‘’S-Sorry! I gunked up again, didn’t I? It’s just been so long since I had a conversation with someone who wasn’t my superior or was about my sister.’’

Vika smiled at the shy cat before rustling her messy, orange hair. ‘’It’s okay, Lyre. We’ll have plenty of time to talk later on. It’s alright to be a little excited at it all.’’

Lyre bashfully nodded her head in appreciation. ‘’Oh yeah, your room!’’ The cat proceed to open the creaking door, giving Vika a good look inside her suite. It defiantly was a high-class accommodation like the king had said. White, silk curtains hung in front of a large square in the wall as the night wind gently wafted through. Beautiful, ornate wood work was carved into the furniture that littered the room while wooden torches enhanced their vanish, as the effects and room was lit up in a flickering amber. Both Vika and Lyre gave a impressed hum in response.

‘’Wow, fancy digs. Anyways, kitchen is down the main hall, baths are to the left, and if you need to head to town, just follow the hall all the way through. Anything else you need of me, oh honoured guest?’’ the cat finished with a grinning salute. 

The raven giggled at her lively friend. ‘’Oh yeah. You’re my personal maid now, right? King’s commands?’’

The little cat wiggled her nose. ‘’Well don’t let it go to your head, but yeah, at service, jump off a cliff at your order, all that jazz. ‘Every desire’ was it? So, what would you like, some snacks? A massage?’’

Despite Lyre’s innocent face, Vika couldn’t help but to leer teasingly at the cute guard, spontaneously grabbing the cat by the hem of her shirt and pulling her body directly up to her’s, provoking a light squeak from Lyre as their breasts squished softly against each other. 

‘’Mmm, how bout a little room service then, cutie?’’ the raven breathed, smirking as she saw the blush bloom on the stuttering cat’s face before Vika tauntingly flickered her nose. Lyre’s blush stayed as the cat started indignantly pouting at her seducer, who was now beside herself with laughter. 

‘’Ha-Ha, very funny. I said friends, not friends with benefits!’’ she mewed, turning around in a huff. Before Vika could apologize, however, she caught a sly smirk on Lyre’s face, and jerked in surprise as she felt a soft tail wrap around her upper thigh and the cat’s rear bump against her belly.

‘’Well, not yet anyways.’’ she purred, eyes glistening, before flicking her tail at Vika’s nose as the raven had done to her earlier. She then snickered and raced down the hall in a blur, waving at the raven as she ran. ‘’Just kidding! You make sure to come play with me some time, okay Vika?! Bye!’’ The cat then disappeared around a corner, her giggles echoing through the halls as she left.

‘’Man, Nailah’s really rubbing off on me.’’ the raven sighed, hand still waving in the air. With that, she stepped out of the empty corridor and into her lavish room, shutting the door behind her with a thud. It was too early in the evening to be sleeping, and too late to start exploring the castle, so she decided to snoop around her room, looking for something to bide her time with. In one of the cabinets, she found an old, tattered, book, ‘Devdan’s Wonderful Adventures’ sprawled out in big, bold, letters over the cover, while a goofy, dark-skinned human ran through a field of flowers, holding a crude drawing of a stick figure in one hand and a lance in the other. She raised an eyebrow at the strange looking book, but shrugged as she decided she had nothing else better to do. Settling down on her bed, the raven cracked the odd book open as she snugged up in her blanket. 

_''Mua ha har hee ho hee hoo!’’ the terrible sentinel bellowed as he pulled a glistening, blood-stained lance from the bowels of his enemy. The bandit collapsed onto the ground, blank eyes trembling as he gazed on the horrible visage of his executioner, life slowly slipping away. The fell lancer gave a tremendous laugh as he stood over his latest victim, goatee slapping against his chin like the devil’s asscheeks. ‘’Devdan told you! He fights like ten men!’’_

This was going to be interesting.

 

By the time most of the castle had retired to their dreams, Vika had already devoured half of the book, eyes reading madly as Devdan and his sidekick, Nadved, was engaged in a fierce battle with Daein troops, the situation looking bleak. The sudden sound of her door slamming open jolted the raven out of her trance, the book falling out of her arms and onto the floor. In the glow of the hallway’s torches, stood Nailah, looking utterly exhausted. She tiredly stumbled her way over to Vika before loudly slumping onto her mattress, weary groans escaping her lips.

‘’Maaan, that stupid Skrimir brat would not shut up! ‘Please, spar with me, master! Give me fighting tips, oh great warrior!’ Goddess, he needs to invest in a punching bag.’’

Vika smirked at the pouting wolf, rustling her hair and fiddling with her furry ears. ‘’Long day, eh your majesty? Though, why are you here? You have your own room.’’

The Hatarian gave her a dramatically hurt look, before saddling up to the raven and softly leaning her head on her shoulder, innerly grinning as she felt the heat radiate from her friend’s face.

‘’Am I not allowed to visit my favourite raven? After a hard, day’s work, I can’t even rest in the comfort of my lover’s bosom? How cold!’’ the wolf cried, the crocodile tears making Vika squirm in discomfort. 

‘’Y-You’re always allowed to t-talk me...’’ the embarrassed raven muttered as Nailah giggled in amusement. ‘’A-Anyways! Uh, how did your chat with the lion king go? T-Talk about anything interesting?’’ she said, quickly trying to switch topics.

Nailah gave a big moan as she stretched her limbs, removing her head from Vika’s shoulders and lazily setting it on the bedpost. ‘’Nah, just explained general crap about Hatari. We entertained the idea of sending some colonies to each other’s country, olive branch stuff, ya know? But it’s way too early to start doing stuff like that with Gallia’s troubles right now, so we just had leader talk. Big red is actually a pretty competent guy, compared to the rest of his claw-happy guards. Runs a tight ship’’

Vika nodded, folding her arms. ‘’Yeah, I’ve heard many great things about king Caineghis. He’s trying to forge a treaty between Gallia and the beorc nation of Crimea. They say that he truly wishes to bridge the gap between the two races, and his people had the utmost respect from him. Great man, the king of Gallia.’’

Nailah just hummed in response, looking surprisingly distant. Vika noticed she had started to fidget on the bed, ears flopping uncomfortably, before the suddenly facing the raven, a touch of anger in her eyes.

‘’I...I’m not the queen of wolves, Vika.’’

The air was still for a moment, the only movement in the room being the slow waving of the curtains. Vika then suddenly shot up like an arrow and frantically jumped away from the woman, eyes bulging.

‘’Y-YOU AREN’T?! WH-WHERE THE HELL DID THAT COME FROM?! Y-You’ve been deceiving me this whole time?! A-Are you j-just some nobody, pretending to be the queen so you can bed unsuspecting maide-’’

‘’WH-WHAT?! N-NO, YOU’RE OVERREACTING! THIS ISN’T...’’ Nailah yelled, a heavy blush on her face as Vika scooted away in fear. ‘’Errr, damn it! I’m telling a story! so you just sit down, shut the hell up, and listen, Vika!’’ 

The raven simply sat their, staring at the now mysterious woman from the ground. She then slowly got up and returned to the bed, sitting across from Nailah with her knees folded. 

The Hatarian huffed. ‘’O-Okay. I...What I meant was that I’m technically not the ruler of the wolf clan. That title belongs to my father. I’m still the queen of Hatari and have final say in most decrees, but i-it was just kinda weird hearing wolf queen from you guys.’’ Nailah finished, rubbing her arms.

‘’O-Oh? That’s it? That’s nothing to be ashamed of...’’

‘’THEN WHY WERE YOU LOOKING AT ME LIKE I BURN DOWN ORPHANAGES FOR FUN?!’’ the queen flared, causing Vika to shrink sheepishly.

‘’Eheheh... right! S-Sorry! I guess I did kind of overreact!’’ the raven chuckled. That book was rotting her brain. ‘’P-Please, continue with your story.’’

‘’Hmpf...like I said, I’m no wolf queen. What I am, is the 6th Lodestar of Hatari, she who is stitched with the roots of all races and the voice which the people flock to.’’ Nailah potently and proudly finished, though the awkward air left in wake of the delivery was anything but.

‘’Um...cool?’’ the raven chanced, not sure what to do with the strange information.

‘’D-Damn it, I’m not done explaining! I-It’s a system the divine dragons implanted shortly after the war. We are named after the first Lodestar, the hero Cymbeline, who unified a continent to fight back against the earth dragons. Our job is to listen to the voices and needs of all the races and to be the one symbol that all stand up to recognize, that all would follow. Every century, the manaketes elect one person out of all the Hatarian races to take on this great responsibility and about thirty years ago, and out of dozens of candidates, the divine ones chose me to lead the continent.’’

Vika stared sympathetically at the wolf, who was gazing out the window with a distant look on her face. ‘’Nailah, why are you telling me this? Is something wrong?’’

The queen scrunched up her face. ‘’I...I just...What do you think of me, Vika?’’

‘’...Eh?’’

At first the raven thought this was one of the Nailah’s quirky jokes, but the unsteady, almost pleading, look on the Hatarian’s face seemed to imply otherwise. Her face flushed at the passionate look Nailah was giving her as she started nervously playing with her fingers.

‘’U-Uh, umm, I-I t-think you’re a very...g-good leader? A-And a r-really strong w-warrior! Y-Yeah!’’

As the words left her mouth, Vika mentally cried out as she saw the spirit vanish from the queen’s face instantly, momentarily being replaced with a solemn look of sadness and insecurity. The raven fell deathly silent and bowed her head down in shame, eyes misting up.

The look. The stupid, tragic, totally-not-cute, look pisses the hell out of Vika. It was so unbecoming of her, so against everything the proud, caring, and beautiful queen stood for, everything she loved seeing reflected in her eyes every time Nailah laughed. She festered quietly to herself as the room descended into silence.

‘You idiot raven! Nailah listens to your sob stories, saves your life, and takes the time to tell you about her life in Hatari and that’s all you can say to her?!’

She always hoped to stay at the woman’s side, yet how could she stay if this was all she had to offer the amazing woman. Damnit, but how could she find the words? Vika’s eyes suddenly widened with dread as she felt a weight on the mattress disappear, the despondent Hatarian picking herself up.

‘’T-Thanks, bird! That, that meant a lot!’’ Vika harshly grimaced as she could hear the pain in her friend’s voice. ‘’I-I’m gonna head back now, okay? So...goodni-!!!’’

Nailah stiffened as she felt something small holding her back. Looking down, she saw a soft pinky tightly wrapped around her own. Back on the bed, Vika was sitting, knees squeezed up to her body as her little finger firmly anchored the Hatarian in place. The raven’s face was shyly turned away from sight, though Nailah could tell she was blushing furiously as evident by the strawberry-like hue of her ear. 

‘’...you already know what I think of you, Nailah. I said it after you saved me from those bandits, remember?’’ Vika whispered, pinky clutching Nailah even harder despite the lack of resistance in its prisoner. ‘’I...I think you’re wonderful, Nailah. You’re the most amazing person I’ve ever met. You’re kind, brave, b-beautiful...’’ The raven blushed even harder at that word.

‘’But I-I see you with this face sometimes, Nailah, this stupid face that tells me you think you’ve failed at something, failed someone. You have no reason to make that face. I’ve only seen you make good discussions in our time together, only heard you say good things. Rafiel, Micaiah, me. You’ve changed all our lives in ways no one else in Tellius, in the world could do. You are a great leader, and the most important person I’ve met in my life. Any insecurities you have, throw them away, Nailah, because you’re perfect, okay?’’

The room once again returned to silence in the wake of the raven’s heartfelt confession, the night wind gently tussling fabric from the window. Vika’s eye twitched.

‘What the hell, that was so cheesy! She probably thinks I’m coming on to her! Oh goddess, I was totally coming on to her!’

Feeling her cheeks melt from the heat, Vika bolted around in a fit of embarrassment. 

‘’S-So!!!...Huh?’’

As she faced her friend, Vika was greeted with a sight she never would have imagined seeing in her wildest dreams. Nailah was standing there, mouth agape, while tears come down from her eyes. She was crying. As quickly as they came, however, they disappeared, the woman blinking and savagely wiping them from her face, before breaking out in the widest, happiest smile Vika had ever seen her smile.

‘’Sniff, oh Vika!’’

The raven gave a startled yelp as the Hatarian tackled her to the bed, squeezing her body snuggly as Vika felt her tremble slightly in her hold. Whenever she tried to angle herself in front of the queen’s face, Nailah would quickly shove her face further into the raven’s shoulder, almost timidly tensing up.

‘’N-No one’s ever seen me cry, bird and I don’t plan on starting now.’’ the Hatarian quietly murmured, though Vika could hear the slight quiver in her voice. ‘’...Sometimes these responsibilities I have really eat away at me, so much that even I start acting like a baby heron. But hearing you say those words, Vika, knowing how much you care, it makes those moments worth it. Maybe I really can’t please everybody, can’t make a difference or matter to some people...’’ Vika then gasped as she felt Nailah’s hand lovingly intertwine with her own, calloused digits caressing the length of her fingers. ‘’...But I matter to you, Vika, and that is enough. I...you truly are precious to me, my beautiful little bird.’’

As Nailah finished up her speech, still refusing to move her head from Vika’s shoulder, the raven was left breathless at the words, her mind in a happy daze. As her body processed the weight on her chest, the hand in her own, the fluttering in her heart, blissful tears began to moisten her eyes as Vika returned the embrace in full force. 

‘’T-Those words mean just as much to me as mine did to you, you know! S-So you can stop your crying!’’

The Hatarian gave a peeved whine. ‘’I-I told you, I ain’t crying! What you feel is just s-sweat, al-alright...B-But, if it’s not to much trouble, do you mind if I sleep her with you, tonight? Like this? N-Not that I’m lonely or anything...’’ the wolf asked, with a rather meek voice.

Vika didn’t need to respond, simply holding the woman tighter as she breathed into her hair. With a smile, Nailah did the same, rubbing her cheek tenderly against the flesh of Vika’s neck, the two woman wordlessly wishing each other a good night as they laid together in the light of the goddess’s moon, happy tears from both mingling with the white bedsheets.

‘’...hehe, your heart’s beating really fast, bird.’’

‘’D-DO YOU WANT ME TO KICK YOU OUT?!’’


	9. Hatred

Vika spent the next week or so in the comfort and warmth of Castle Gallia. Tormod and Muarim were hired by Ranulf to attend to some duties around the general area, thus she stayed with them, helping her old friends with the jobs. They didn’t really need the contracts, since Caineghis had given them more gold then they knew what to do with for protecting Rafiel, but the trio still felt an obligation to the Gallians’ kindness, thus sticked around, patrolling the general area or investigating happenings in the castle town. 

As expected, Vika didn’t see much of Nailah in the coming days, since she had much to teach the beast tribe about Hatari. Vika would often see her in talks with Caineghis and Giffca or half-heartedly scribbling some tidbit relating to Hatari on scraps of paper, bored out of her mind. Yet, even with all her responsibilities, Nailah would still make time for the needy raven, two of them enjoying dinners together in the castle town or recounting stories about Hatari. On some nights, they would even settle down in Vika’s bed and read together, the two finding ‘Devdan’s Wonderful Adventures II: Danved Strikes Back’ in the royal library for some reason. 

After the little chat they had in Vika’s chambers, she had noticed that the Hatarian would behave rather oddly around her sometimes. She would feel Nailah’s hands on her more often. Not her distasteful groping (though that still happened regularly), but a firm touch just for the sake of comfort, whether it be a pat on the shoulder after a long day’s work or awkwardly holding her hand after a night out. She also would she the wolf queen blush at rare times. Sometimes it was when their cheeks touched while reading a book together. At others, it was when she happened to bump into the woman after a long day of patrolling, her feathers and body glistening with sweat. 

Though, if Nailah’s fluster had doubled, then Vika’s had likely increased tenfold. Whenever she saw the desert beauty, her heart would start hammering away in her chest. The slightest brush of skin would send shivers up her spine and tingles along her limbs. It was absolutely infuriating how stupid she got sometimes when she was around her. 

The other day, while she was on her way back to the castle after settling a dispute at a local bar, Vika suddenly heard Nailah’s voice ring out in the streets, a trace of agitation in the air. Peeking through the window of a nearby boutique, her eyes bulged out as she saw what was inside. Standing in the middle of the room, and surrounded by numerous, swooning handmaidens, stood Nailah, grimacing as she squirmed around in the most fitting, unfitting outfit she had ever seen. The wolf queen, whom Vika had only seen in her traditional two-piece up to that point, was wearing a poofy, extravagant dress, likely at the request at her admirers. It was a light shade of purple with mahogany patterns and was littered with tiny, green gems along the length of it, making the Hatarian shine in the sunlight. Vika stood frozen in place at her vantage point for a unknown amount as she numbly stared at Nailah, the heat from her cheeks fogging up the window. It wasn’t until Nailah had finally noticed the raven for herself, the two of them both blushing in horror as they locked eyes, that Vika was able to move, flying away in a trail of feathers. She could hear the embarrassed wolf queen screaming at her from the distance. 

Vika gave a frustrated sigh as she sat among the trees in the courtyard on one gloomy morning, mind swirling with thoughts of the desert beauty. Today, she was wondering how many sexual escapades the flirtatious charmer had with other woman, possibly with woman prettier than herself. The castle handmaidens whimpered in fear as they hurriedly passed the scowling raven, who was savagely chipping bark off a poor tree as the possibilities filled her head.

‘’Wow, you have sharper claws than some cat laguz have when shifted there, raven!’’

The sudden voice caused Vika to jolt up in surprise, turning around to see the grinning face of the Gallian commander, Ranulf. 

‘’M-Mr. Ranulf! Oh, s-sorry about the tree!’’ the raven cried in apology, eyes falling on the shredded wood chips littering the courtyard.

‘’No worries, no worries. If you don’t get them, Skrimir will! Anyways, I wanted at ask you a little favour. A couple of armed beorc have been seen in Gallia hauling some suspicious looking crates. They should be passing by the palace very soon and I was wondering if you could come assist us in finding out what their up to. Would be really useful to have a flier on our team.’’

‘’Oh, of course!’’ the raven said earnestly. ‘’I’d be glad to help you out after all that gold your king gave me.’’

The cat gave a obliged grin. ‘’If only gold could solve all our problems that easily! Anyways, we’ll grab some vulneraries and go meet my squad outside the palace perimeter. Appreciate this, Miss Vika!’’

Vika gave a nod before heading off with Ranulf to deal with the suspicious humans. After a brief stop by the medical tent, the two journeyed through the castle town and soon found themselves in the dense trees of Gallia’s forest once again. They quickly found the rest of Ranulf’s squadmates, huddled in front of a cliff overlooking the main road. The group was a mix of tiger and cat laguz, all looking ready and capable. Among them were a fancily dressed tiger and a orange-haired cat, who were hurling insults at each other as the rest of their comrades watched in amusement. Noticing the newcomers’ presence, Lyre whipped her head towards them before breaking out in a big grin.

‘’Commander Ranulf! Oh, Vika!’’

The cat proceeded to run over and tackle the raven in a big hug, which Vika happily returned. When she wasn’t with Nailah, most of her downtime was spent in the company of her new Gallian friend. Lyre showed her the more interesting sights in the castle town, where the two ate or talked, Vika enjoying the quirky nature of the playful laguz. Of course, most conversations the two had revolved around Ranulf or Lyre inferiority complex towards her sister, but Vika enjoyed listening nonetheless. Helping take her mind off steamy thoughts about a certain wolf was also a plus. 

‘’Easy, kitten. I just saw Vika here gouge open a tree. Kyza, what’s the situation?’’

The grey tiger ran up to his commander and gave a stiff salute, his tail wigging excitedly. ‘’Commander! Our scouts spotted the humans a little ways up from this road! They are well armed and seem to be a cut above common bandits! We should be getting visual conformation of the group very soon, sir!’’ 

‘’As impressive as ever, vice-commander.’’ Ranulf applauded, Kyza smiling brightly at the praise. ‘’Nothing to do but to twiddle our thumbs until they get here. Take up positions near the cliff. I want to be alerted the second you see a furless ear, raven excluded.’’

The Gallians gave a collective salute in response and made their ways to positions along the cliff, eyes staring off into the distance. As Ranulf and Kyza talked strategy, Vika took up position next to Lyre, who was sniffing the air for any scent on the wind. As the seonds ticked on, the cat eventually tilted her head towards Vika, eyes dancing.

‘’So Vika, I saw the wolf queen enter your room for the third time this week, yesterday.’’ the cat purred with a taunting smile as a light blush began to invade the raven’s face. ‘’She’s showing you some Hatari ‘customs’ between the sheets, isn’t she.’’

‘’Wh-What?! How did you...why...N-Nailah’s just hanging out with me, Lyre! G-Get your mind out of the gutter, alright!’’ the raven squawked defensively, feathers rustling behind her. 

‘’Uh-huh, sure. Like you two don’t flirt like lovebirds enough outside of your bedroom. Don’t worry, I’m not judging. Besides, landing the queen of an entire continent is not bad at all, Vika!’’

Brutally embarrassed, the raven growled at the teasing cat, wrapping the girl in a headlock while Lyre squealed playfully.

‘’Contact!’’

All eyes turned to the dirt road as a small convoy started to descend down the path. Many boorish looking humans were seen grumbling amongst each other, sharp weapons branded in their hands as they walked. Near the back of the formation and guarded by many armed men, were two very large wooden crates, each being pulled by a horse. Suspicious holes were engraved near the top of the boxes, as if meant to let air in, and Vika’s ears could pick up faint noises coming from the openings occasionally.

‘’That’s some very dubious looking cargo they got there and equally shady looking guards. Ergh, bastards are ugly as the dragon king is bald.’’ Ranulf then motioned his squad to come close.’’

‘’Alright team, here’s the plan. I’m going to confront the leader about the crates with Kyza and Kezhda as my bodyguards. If things go the hell, and I fully expect it to do, I want the tigers to wait near the bushes and strike the bastards before they can gang up on us. Lyre, you and the other cats head up the road, loop around the bandits, and position yourselves on the other side. Vika, I want you to fly over and take out any mages they may have in their ranks before they can get the drop on us beasts. Then, join up with the cat platoon and mop up. Now, move out soldiers!’’

With a quick salute, the laguz hurried off into their formation. As the cats scampered off and the tigers prowled into the bushes, Vika quickly shifted and flew into one of the trees on the other side of the road, eyes trained on the convoy. When the humans came within spitting distance of the hidden laguz, Ranulf casually strolled out of the bushes and waltzed up to their leader, flanked by the shifted Kyza and an obsidian cat, likely Kezhda. 

‘’Excuse me, gentleman!’’ the commander announced, smirking under the hatful glares the humans were giving him. ‘’I was just passing by and was wondering what you fellows were hauling around Gallia in those crates of yours.’’

The leader, a rather calm and refined looking swordsmaster, gave a wave to his companions to settle down before giving Ranulf a surprising bow. ‘’I am sorry for trespassing on your lands, Gallian. Me and my convoy are moving supplies from Castle Crimea to Begnion. There are just food and furniture in those crates and we will be off your lands as soon as possible.’’

Vika noticed many of the humans back up defensively towards the crates and fingers slide towards their weapons. This cargo was clearly more important and secretive than they lead on. Suspecting this, she heard the cat gave an unconvinced hum. ‘’Innocent enough, but I would still like to take a look in the boxes. It will only take a second.’’

Vika could see the leader’s eyes twitch for a second before returning to their usual tranquility. ‘’I am sorry, but we are under specific orders not to open the crates until we arrive at our destination. Do not ask me again, Gallian.’’

Ranulf was clearly getting impatient with the man, as were the laguz at his side, their claws digging into the ground. His voice took on a sharp tone as he began pacing in front of the leader, eyes accusing.

‘’Hmm, Castle Crimea has been under lockdown for the last couple of days due to the rebellion. We are merely a day’s walk from the castle so I doubt you’ve received them from there.’’ Vika grinned as she saw the swordsmaster jerk visibly. ‘’Also, there are holes dotted on top of the crates, almost like they were meant for air. I don’t think apples or chairs need a breather so mighty odd that you put so much effort in installing them.’’ 

Kyza gave a low growl as his commander quickly broke through their farce. ‘’What are you really hiding in there, human?’’ Ranulf rumbled, arms flexing.

The leader simply stared silently at the Gallian for a moment before twisting his face into an ugly snarl, suddenly swiping his blade at the beast. As the sword finished its arc, a brutal gust of sharp wind roared from the weapon’s length, sending it right at the three laguz. In a flash, they jumped away from the slicing wind, Ranulf shifting as he hit the ground, claws bared. The leader waved his blade in the air. 

‘’Kill them! Kill the sub-humans!’’

‘’Gallians! Attack!’’

The charging bandits closest to Ranulf were suddenly mauled as a wave of tigers leapt out of the bushes and stopped their advance, Ranulf and his guards joining in on the fray. The bewildered leader didn’t even have time to react to the tigers, before he heard panicked screams to his left, turning to see the cat laguz jump out from behind the trees and slashing into the defenceless men, axes fumbling to the ground as sharp paws pierced their hides. The swordsman eyes widened in shock at the abrupt avalanche of beasts before yelling madly and lunging at the laguz, the rest of his lackeys doing the same.

That was Vika’s cue. Wings flaring about, the raven swooped and dived into the heart of the bandits where a fire mage was preparing an Elfire spell. Before the mage could hear her, the raven slashed down on the bandit from above, the magic dissipating from his hands as he grasped his bloody fingers. Vika did a quick u-turn and finished the confused human off, sending him twirling to the ground as blood sprayed from his neck. The raven had no time to celebrate, though, as blades of winds materialized out of nowhere at ripped towards her. Elwind. Vika expertly weaved through the magic, looking down to find a wind sage sitting right beneath her, robes flapping against his spells. As she tried to get close, she found her route suddenly blocked by a large warrior, a hand axe twirling about in his palm. Any attempts to take out the warrior was foiled by bursts of wind from the sage, Vika raven narrowly dodging the edge of an airborn axe which joined in on the assault. 

_Jingle._

Vika internally smirked at the all to familiar sound, surprising the two bandits by abruptly diving straight at them. 

‘’Ha, she’s gone stark mad! Time to die then, cro-, shit!’’

The warrior felt his legs give out as Lyre appeared out of the bushes, wrapped her tail around the man, and pulled, causing him to collide forcibly with the ground. Vika flew right past the downed man as aggressive meowing (well, as aggressive as meowing can sound), drowned out the screams of the warrior. The sage, finding his meat shield gone, began to fling rough, shards of air in a panic. The raven easily avoided the unfocused spells and arrived at her target safe and sound.

_One._

The first strike tore a large gash into the sage’s left arm, his tome falling to the ground with a thud.

_Two._

The second strike left a red hole in his chest, causing the man to hunch over in pain

_Three._

The third and final strike was directed at the tip of the sage’s spine, the man giving a pained shudder before collapsing to the ground, dead.

Vika looked around to see Lyre and another cat finishing off the warrior, the man’s hand vainly gripped around a vulnerary as the two beasts cut into his back. After she made sure the warrior was done, Vika flew higher to survey the battlefield, only to find that the battle was nearly over. All the bandits lay bloodied and dead save for the leader, who was clutching his side as faced off with Ranulf. The human gave one last frenzied cry as he once again swiped his storm sword at the laguz. Predicting the move, the commander did a great leap as he flew over the sharp gust of wind and swiped his claws downwards, slashing the swordsmen from his face to his thigh. Ranulf then latched onto the man’s chest before thrusting himself off, brutalizing his flesh in a bloody homage to Nailah’s move during her battle with Giffca. The defeated swordsmaster flew backwards with a weak groan before slamming onto the dirt, dead before he hit the ground. 

As the leader fell, the Gallians gave a booming roar in victory before reverting in a great flash of light, many tiredly scrounging their packs for medicine.

‘’That’s why you don’t mess with Gallia. Kyza! Damage report!’’

The grey tiger was beside his commander in an instant. ‘’Humans routed! We suffered some injuries, but no fatalities! Crates are unscathed!’’

‘’Excellent work, men!’’ Ranulf grinned. ‘’Tend to our wounded while we go check on their cargo. Dismissed!’’

Reverting herself, Vika stretched her sore limbs out, brushing away splashes of blood on her wings before fluttering her way over to Lyre, who was walking over to check on the crates.

‘’Hey, thanks for the assist back there.’’ Vika said as she touched down next to the cat, who was pawing at her tail. ‘’Couldn’t get close with axes and freaky wind being thrown at me.’’

The cat perked up at her friends appearance, smiling. ‘’Well, you did probably save me from getting my cute, little, butt roasted, so no worries! But gods, do you smell that stench?! These mutts need to take bath! Smells like they haven’t been bathed in months!’’ the cat miffed, pinching her nose in disgust.

‘’Hmm, I don’t smell anything.’’ 

Vika surveyed the corpses around the two. The humans weren’t the most attractive looking bunch, but they seemed to decently clothed and pampered, like mercenaries for the rich. Perhaps it was just Lyre’s advanced sense of smell but something still felt off about the whole thing.

‘’By the goddess, what the hell?!”

All heads turned to the direction of the yell, vulneraries dropping and wounds forgotten. At the back of the convoy, Vika saw that Kezhda and Raunlf had managed to open one of the crates and were morbidly staring inside at its contents, former with a shaking hand covering his mouth and nose, while the commander just stood there, eyes wide.

The blood in Vika’s veins turned to ice.

‘It can’t be.’

She raced to the boxes, wings flapping as hard as they could as Lyre scrambled after her. She tripped and stumbled to the ground as she touched down in front of the crate, nostrils burning. Her eyes dare not move from the dirt road as she lay there. 

She could smell it now. That putrid, almost rotting stench of a person treated like less than trash. It was a smell Vika was all to familiar with. As she numbly tilted her head, her worse fears were realized as she came face to face with the haunting stares of the bandit’s cargo. There, crammed within the confines of the dirty cage, sat a handful of bruised and battered laguz, covered in filth as dirt oozed into their wounds. They were slaves.

‘’Vika! A-Are you okay? What’s going-...oh no...’’ The little cat’s breath violently hitched and whipped her face away, unable to stomach the dreadful sight. 

‘’Damn it! I knew this was what they were hiding but I didn’t want to believe it!’’ Ranulf barked. ‘’Kezhda, gather all the unwounded men and get those people out of there immediately! Kyza-’’

A screeching, baleful cry suddenly pierced the through the air and stopped everyone in their tracks, burning itself into Vika’s mind. Her hands had to force her head to turn, the world around her starting to blur as fear squeezed the air out of her lungs. Coming out of the second crate was two soldiers, sombrely carrying a frail, old woman. But, but there was something wrong. The woman wasn’t moving, her eyes weren’t open. Vika couldn’t even hear her breath, hear her pulse. The woman was dead. 

‘’NO! GRANDMOTHER! WHERE ARE YOU TAKING HER! SHE, SHE WAS GOING TO TAKE ME FISHING! SHE WAS GOING TO TEACH ME HOW TO PLAY THE FLUTE! GIVE HER BACK!’’ 

Held back by one of the soldiers was a little laguz boy, no older than eight year of age. His eyes were spread wide and pupils shot about in every direction. He kicked and screamed, crying so hard that it was almost as if he believed his yells could somehow bring his beloved grandmother back to life. 

-

_‘’Sniff... hic...ha...Beh...Beh...arghhhhh!’’_

-

It was too much for Vika. Her stomach lurched violently as vomit poured out of her mouth and tears stung at her eyes. She choked and shuddered on the cold ground as terrible images poured in from the recesses of her mind, ripping at her soul and robbing away her sight. She was so insane with grief, that she didn’t even feel Lyre’s frantic hands shaking her, nor did she hear her and Ranulf yelling as she flew back to the castle, wings flapping as fast as they could manage.

Vika didn’t waste time walking through the gate, flying, sometimes clawing, desperately up the high, palace walls and through her window, where she collapsed onto her bed and let her tears run free. Her heavily strained wings felt like they were going to fall off, yet Vika did not register it as the horrible, horrible images continued to fill her head. 

-

_A child dragging a heavy sled through the mud._

_A raven standing trembling in the rain._

_Tears mingling with the dirt as a shovel dug deeper into the ground._

_The gruesome sight of cold, wrinkled, flesh on her hands._

_A body slowly disappearing beneath the weight of dark, wet, soil._

_A little girl driven to the edges of insanity as she wept on front of a half-filled grave._

_‘’I HATE YOU!!’’_

-

‘’No! No! Stop it! STOP ITTTTT! I DON’T WANT TO REMEMBER!’’

Vika pulled savagely at her hair as she begged for the memories to leave. She cried vehemently into her pillow for an unknown amount of time in her despair, not hearing the occasional pounding on her door or plea regarding her well-being. By the time the sun had set, the raven had run out of tears to cry, body reduced to silent hiccups as she numbly stared out her window. Even now she still saw the visions on the fringes of her mind, taunting her, punishing her for her weakness. Yet, she had no strength left to resist them, thus quietly succumbed to pains of her past. 

She thought she heard the pounding return against her door, but paid it no mind as she lay there. It then started up again, much more louder and frantic. A faint voice could be heard accompanying it.

‘’...-ka!...soon as... eard...Open...mn it! ...me, Nai...ll are you doing?!’’

The sounds continued to increase in volume and tempo until a thunderous smashing noise rocked the room. Vika slowly stirred her eyes towards the sound to find her door laying on the ground in splinters. Standing where it once stood was a woman, bathed in the glow of the hallway and her face ridden with worry.

‘’Goddess, Vika. What happened to you...’’

He dull senses eventually made out the feeling of strong, clingy arms wrap around her at blinding speeds, a light scent of the nostalgic desert wafting into her nose and endless waves of purple invade her sight. She didn’t know why but I hurt to see that normally radiant hair.

‘’I...I heard what you guys found, what you had to see.’’ 

The voice was so quiet, yet so prominent at the same time. A breath on her neck filled Vika with a warmth that was devoid in her body since she saw those crates. She shuddered 

‘’Goddess, this day hasn’t been kind to you, has it?...Let it out, Vika. I’m here you.’’

The raven’s shaking started to become more fevered, more emotional. Somehow her eyes found an untouched reservoir of hot tears and let them slide down Vika’s face. Frightened squeaks of sharp air escaped from her mouth despite the raven desperately trying to hold them in.

‘’I...I...haa...d-don’t w-want you...to see...m-m-me...sniff...Nai...Nai...WAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!’’

Vika couldn’t hold in her pain any more, letting the dam break as the raven cried mercy into Nailah’s comforting embrace, emotions flooding out into her arms. 

‘’I’m sorry Nailah! I’m sorry! I tried forgetting, I tried so hard, but it still hurts! After all you’ve done...wahhhhh!’’

Nailah held her friend ever closer, fingers lovingly curling against Vika’s dark hair, just like in the meadow where they first met. ‘’Shhh...It’s alright, love. Talk to me, cry into my arms, or just let me hold you. Anything you want, my arms are yours.’’ 

Overwhelmed by the queen’s tender words, Vika did all three, dripping snot and tears onto Nailah’s skin as her muffled cries filled the room. Slender fingers gripped tighter against Nailah’s back as Vika’s mouth started to move on its own, memories being translated into words.

‘’They worked her to death, Nailah! They worked Behna to death and made me bury her corpse! Goddess, I can’t stop seeing her face!’’ The wolf could only stroke her as the raven as the story continued to unweave, nails digging so hard into her brown skin, that they drew blood.

‘’I was so goddamn young, just a little fucking girl who had to drag to only person who gave a damn about her in that hellhole, and throw her in a shallow grave, a grave which I couldn’t even fill, Nailah! I couldn’t even give Behna a proper burial! After all see did for me! WEAK!’’ 

The raven screamed in agony, arms wrapped in a death grip around Nailah, who was still silently holding her. ‘’I was supposed to save her! We were supposed to fly to Soan’s Mane together! I wanted to meet her husband! All I did was dig her further away!’’

‘’Shh, Vika. It’s okay.’’ breath slightly ragged as she bit away the pain of Vika’s nails. ‘’There was nothing you could do. Besides, she wouldn’t want you beating yourself up over this.’’

‘’Sniff, but it hurts...I c-could have...something...’’

Vika felt the Hatarian’s arms bring her shoulders back, her single, green, eye compassionate as it faced the raven’s own. ‘’You need to move on Vika. Or else Behna will never do so herself. Just remember the happy times you spent with her, and let the others rest. I’m here for you.’’

Nailah flinched as she saw a dark presence flash on the raven’s features, her face starting to drift downwards, misty orbs unable to meet her. 

‘’...heh...you know, that was exactly what Behna used to say about my parents. That she would look after me in place of them. That I would never be alone.’’ Nailah felt a rare shot of fear slink through her veins as the sinister presence leaked through Vika’s entire body, muscles tensing.‘’...You know, despite what I say, I really, really hate Behna.’’

‘’V-Vika...What...What are you-’’

She let out a hollow laugh. ‘’Not just her, but my parents too. I hate them, oh how I despise those their haunting faces.’’ eyes leering deep into the wolf’s soul. ‘’Do you know why I hate them, Nailah? Why my putrid emotions sing this hate for the people who loved me the most, and why I’m scared one day I’ll come to hate you too?’’

‘’Vika, I-’’ 

Nailah’s breath hitched as she felt a single tear drip upon her lap.

‘’...They left me. They said that they would always be there for me, always hold my hand through all the pain.’’ the raven’s body started to shake once more, staring back at the wolf with helpless, tired, eyes. ‘’Damnit, they lied to me, Nailah! They promised me a life and then left me with ashes! I HATE THEM! I HATE MYSELF! A-And there’ll be a time w-when...I...you...’’

The raven then forcibly tackled Nailah down on the bed, her trembling body begging for Nailah’s touch. The wolf queen could feel hot tears pool up on the her chest as she desperately tried to calm the crying woman down despite her own emotions running wild in her chest.

‘’What, What if I lose you too?!’’ Vika wailed, fear and desperation in her voice. ‘’Everyone who I ever cared about left me, Nailah! And one day, you’re gonna have to leave me too! Whenever I think about you leaving me, not hearing your voice everyday, I...I feel like I did back then!’’ Her voice slowly died down to a whimper. ‘’When I was stolen from my parents, when Behna passed... It hurts Nailah. Don’t leave me. I don’t want to hate you...I’m so...sniff...’’

Vika sagged in Nailah’s arms, defeated. How could she be so pathetic, acting like a child afraid of losing her toy. Nailah had so many responsibilities, was in charge of an entire continent, and here she was asking her to babysit her even further. 

‘Damn it, I’ve ruined everything...’ Vika despaired as she braced herself for rejection. She just wanted Nailah to end it here, so she could no longer hold the wolf queen back. Infinite sorrow would be better than watching the person who she loved pity her while her own troubles festered behind a facade, the woman’s responsibilities going untended.

To her surprise, Vika felt Nailah’s arms pull her upright and thrust her into a passionate embrace, hands comforting every part of the raven’s wounded body as she lay there, stunned.

‘’N-Nailah? P-Please, you don’t have to-’’

‘’I’ll stay with you forever.’’

Vika’s eyes broadened and her breath hitched. She couldn’t believe it.

‘’W-Wha-’’

‘’I’ll never leave you alone, Vika. You’re my precious, remember? Until both Tellius and Hatari drown beneath the sea, I will stand by your side, listen to every one of your problems.’’ The Hatarian’s voice sung sweetly into her being. ‘’So...stop crying, Vika. Just as you hate seeing my sad face, it aches my heart to see yours. You don’t have to hate me. Please don’t.’’

Those hot, salty, tears returned once again to the raven’s face. She had to be dreaming. Why was Nailah saying these things, these infuriatingly impossible things? 

‘’W-What a-are you saying...S-Stop it...I c-c-can’t...’’

‘’Shhh, I’m here. You can feel me, can’t you? My skin against yours? I won’t disappear on you. So...just rest, okay? Rest in my arms, and know that I will still be here holding you when you wake in the morning. I’ll never leave you behind, Vika.’’

Those terrible lies, those impossible, hopeless, lies felt like honey in Vika’s ears. Nailah could never stay with her for as long as she claimed. She had people to lead, a world to rule. Yet, the way the Hatarian said it, the way those words tickled her heart and set her soul on fire, it filled her with hope and happiness which should not be possible, a fake dream that she could feel with her hands.

‘’S-Shut up...don’t, N-Nailah...Don’t pr-promise w-what you can’t...w-what you c-can’t...’’

She gave in. Her heart couldn’t take it. She gave in and cried her sorrow out in the Hatarian’s arms, not caring if her words were false or not. She poured all her soul, all her trust, into Nailah’s arms, body aching as the night sky lay witness to her weakness. Nailah accepted it all. If she could trick herself into accepting those words, then she didn’t care. Nailah’s touch was all that mattered to her right now. Her sadness would come later.

That night, she believed those lies.

-

_‘’Errrrr, Auntie Behnaaaa! Stop it! It’s already night, so you don’t have to play with it now!’’_

_A little raven squirmed under the touch of an elderly woman as she cheerfully braided the girl’s hair, moonlight illuminating the two laguz as its cold warmth poured through cracks in the window on one peaceful summer night._

_‘’Hoho, but the night sky is so bright tonight, my little bird, and we can see Soan’s Mane so clearly! Don’t you want to look good for old Behna’s hubby?’’ the old woman soothed, weaving the child’s messy, black, hair into orderly waves._

_The little raven gave a small gasp, staring up at the glittering mass of stars, before happily leaning back into Behna’s touch, tiny wings fluttering excitedly as the elder chuckled through her work._

_‘’Say, auntie?’’ the girl chirped. ‘’What was your husband like?’’_

_‘’My, my, looking for another bedtime story, are we?’’ Behna laughed as she pinched on Vika’s cheeks, the little girl pouting as her pouches were assaulted. ‘’Well, he was a very strong beast warrior, the best in our tribe, but had the most gentle soul. I remember on one of our first dates, he stopped right in the middle of it to help an old couple fix their house!’’_

_‘’Ehhh? That doesn’t sound very romantic!’’_

_The tiger playfully scuffled the raven’s hair before her eyes took on a softer tone. ‘’Ay, but I loved him all the same. He always made time to help others, even if it hurt him to do so. And at the end of the day, I knew he loved me back, always putting so much care into the food he made for me and crafting gorgeous necklaces and bracelets for me to wear. Teehee, my, he was teased so much by his friends for doing so! But he never stopped, because it made me happy.’’_

_‘’Whoa...’’ the little raven hummed before following Behna’s gaze towards Soan’s Mane. It really was pretty tonight. The motionless whirlpool shined brightly against Ashera’s dark canvas, a light hue of lake green present on its face as stars twinkled along the cloud. Vika gave a tiny wave to the structure, saying hello to Behna’s wonderful husband, before looking at her little digits,barely big enough to do the laundry. She stared at them intently._

_‘’...I’ll fly you to your husband one day.’’ the raven murmured._

_Behna shook in surprise.’’Wh-What was that, little one?’’_

_Vika turned around and grasped the old tiger’s wrinkled hands in her own small ones, eyes wide and feathers fluttering in the air. ‘’I-I’ll grow stronger! I’ll grow up and beat up all the terrible men here and fly both of us to Soan’s Mane, you’ll see! T-Then I can meet you husband for real and tell him how nice you’ve been to me! I’ll save you, Auntie Behna, I promise!’’_

_Behna could feel tears drip down her eyes as she listened to the hopeful, little raven’s speech. She wrapped Vika in a big, happy, hug as the child fumbled about, surprised by the sudden rush of tears._

_‘’Wh-Why are you crying?! D-Did I do something bad, auntie?’’_

_‘’No, no, you didn’t, little one. I am just so touched by your words, Vika.’’ She cupped the raven’s face and faced it towards her own. ‘’I am much too old to dream of such daring escape plans and Soan’s Mane is much too far for even your wings to reach, little one. But I will travel there one day. Ashera herself will take me there with her powerful magic. As long as you can keep this old cat company until that day, then you’d have done more than enough.’’_

_‘’B-But!’’_

_‘’Shhshhshh, it’s okay, Vika. Holy Ashera cannot be rushed, so I will wait for her patiently. My husband can wait for me too. I know because we once made a vow to never leave each other behind.’’ The tears seemed to fall a little quicker at that. ‘’Even though we are separated now, as long as we meet again and spend that eternity together, then he hasn’t broken that promise, and I will continue to wait until the day when we do.’’_

_Vika seemed unsure as she fidgeted in Behna’s embrace, but decided to leave her auntie’s wishes in the goddess’s hands, snuggling up in Behna’s inviting arms._

_‘’Okay...if that’s what you really want, auntie.’’ she mumbled, before shifting her body to face the night sky once again. ‘’Your husband sounds like a really nice man. I wonder if I’ll ever meet someone who likes me that much.’’_

_The woman gave an amused giggle as she patted the little bird. ‘’I know you will, Vika. I know that you’ll become strong enough to fly away from this place one day and find someone who will truly love you. And you will love them back, just as much as I loved my husband.’’_

_The little raven’s eyes started to droop. ‘’Mmm, that sounds nice. I hope they’re just as nice as you are, auntie Behna...I wanna make them happy too, just like your husband did...to...you...’’_

_With that, Vika drifted off into a peaceful sleep, a small smile on her face as she lent back into Behna’s arms. The old tiger chuckled and got a crude blanket to cover the two in, lovingly wrapping the girl in her warmth. Behna sighed wistfully as she started up at the sky, little Vika in her arms._

_‘’Yes, you’ll find the one someday, Vika. Treasure every moment and sight together with them, my little raven.’’ Her eyes wandered to Soan’s Mane. ‘’Hey, that goes for you too, you old coot. When we meet again, you better have a good excuse for why you left so early, okay? And you better have heaps of your famous meat porridge ready for me to eat...I love you, Solamin...let me take care of little Vika first and we can be together again...my love...’’_

_They both drifted off to sleep, dreaming of different dreams while resting in each others embrace. Regardless of what hardships the future may hold, they slept blissfully ignorant, happy to find a moment’s peace within each other while the glittering sky made it a moment worth remembering._


	10. Mementos

Life was...interesting for Vika after that night. Despite the raven’s red-faced apologies for her earlier behaviour, Nailah still greeted and smiled at her warmly as if nothing had happened. Well, except for at nights where she would always sneak into Vika’s room and sleep together with her. It was a strange, embarrassing thing to do, which Vika constantly reminded Nailah through her heavy blushing, yet still Nailah would come with each rising of the moon and Vika would still happily snuggle up to her until the rising of the sun. During those nights, they would talk about whatever struck their fancy, from stories of Hatari to Vika’s adventures with Lyre (she noticed that Nailah would fidget irritably whenever Vika spoke of the playful cat). Each and every night, her fears of Nailah leaving would fade away further as the wolf queen held her tight within her arms, at each laugh they shared together beneath her blankets. 

At times, her heart would also betray her, beating wildly as she gazed upon Nailah’s sleeping face. She cursed herself every time her mind would wander into intimate fantasies of the two together. She couldn’t have loved Nailah in that way, could she? They were both girls and lived in two different worlds. Yet, her heart never stopped pounding as she held the wolf queen tight in her bed, arms trembling around Nailah’s body as she desperately tried to fight off the deliciously alluring nightmares.

On an unrelated matter, Rafiel’s family had also arrived the other day. Vika had been chatting with Tormod and Muarim when the three heard powerful shrieks fill the air. Looking up, a small squadron of the noble hawk laguz, led by one enormous hawk, formed a protective circle around three beautiful herons, white wings glistening in the sunlight. As soon as they reverted and touched down in the courtyard, Rafiel had come sprinting out of the palace, moving much faster than Vika had ever seen him move before. Vika could practically hear Rafiel’s heart beating as he stared upon the people he hadn’t seen in years, hadn’t thought he would ever see. In a blur of white, two of the new herons, a very handsome heron male and a dainty heron female, rushed out to meet their long, lost brother and collided in a heap of tears and feathers, happy sobbing filling the courtyard as they made up for the years apart. The last heron, a very frail and elderly looking man, had slowly walked up to the lost prince and gave a smile that seemed to be decades in the making, a gesture he was preparing for his son ever since the massacre took him away. Rafiel was in his arms in an instant, apologies and ‘I love you’s pouring out of his mouth as the family shared the reunion they waited decades to have.

‘’And that’s pretty much what happened. The herons and the hawks are staying at the palace until they settle some sort of business that Rafiel wanted to talk to them about.’’ the raven said as she absently nibbled on a Gallian pastry, an odd homage to the beorc cookie, yet filled with overly-hard nuts and fruit bits. 

‘’Whaaaaat?!’’ an orange cat cried, her mug of warm milk slamming onto the table. ‘’I can’t believe I missed them arriving! That idiot Kyza dragged me off to go over some stupid training drills that morning! Waaah, I’ll never forgive him!’’

Vika chuckled at feline’s fuming as she took in a breath of sweet, midmorning air. She was recounting the heron’s arrival yesterday to Lyre as the two enjoyed some sweets and drinks in the veranda of one of the castle town’s bakeries. It was a rather quaint establishment with beautiful blue flowers and charming Gallian decor that reminded Vika more of Crimean or Begnion eateries. The two were more than happy to laze the morning away while sugar and tea danced on their lips. Abruptly, she saw the cat’s angry face turn into one of meekness. 

‘’Ehem...Hey, Vika.’’ she mewed, fingers tapping. ‘’Are you...are you sure you’re okay? You seemed really sad after that mission.’’

Vika blinked before giving a gentle smile at the cat before placing her hand over hers. ‘’Thanks for worrying, Lyre, but I’m okay. I...have a bit of baggage, but I found a way to deal with it. I’m happy that you care about me though.’’ a strong hint of charisma on her breath.

The cat quickly shied her hand away as she fidgeted in embarrassment. ‘’Y-You’re getting tips from Nailah on how to charm women, aren’t you?’’

‘’I don’t know, is it working?’’ the raven grinned, prompting Lyre to spew milk all over the table.

‘’A-A-Ahhh, s-so! Did you hear that the r-rebellion’s over in Crimea?’’ she stuttered, quickly trying to change the subject. ‘’Turns out queen Elincia was able to turn the tide and smash the rebels back in line!’’

Vika giggled, retracting her own hand. ‘’Mm, I heard a couple of rumours from the boss. Supposedly, they made an amazing final stand at Fort Alphea, despite being vastly outnumbered. I even hear she had a bunch of laguz among her ranks.’’

Lyre’s mood slightly dampened at the mention of that, an mild scowl twitching her ears. ‘’Errrrgh, yep, and guess who was at the forefront of the fight, defending the Crimean princess with ‘overwhelming valour’ and felling scores of rebels soldiers in Gallia’s name.’’

‘’Ummm...’’

The raven jumped as Lyre smashed her fist on the table, a frustrated frown on her face. ‘’My ‘super strong and sexy and why can’t you be like her’ sister, Lethe!’’ She slumped over, arms folded and pouting. ‘’Gods, I had like a hundred people ask me about her today. ‘Did you hear about Lethe in the capital! Could you please try to hook me up with your totally hot sister?’ Meowww! Stupid Lethe...’’

‘’C-Come on now. Your can’t hate your sister that much, can you?’’ patting the cat awkwardly on the head. ‘’She sounds like a good person.’’

A small blush coloured Lyre’s face as she muttered timidly into her milk. ‘’I-It’s not like I despise her or anything. She _is_ fighting for Gallia. I-I just wish she would spend more time with me when she comes home instead of being so absorbed in her training. She’s always leaving to go on some dangerous mission without so much as a goodbye. Lethe was no idea how much I worry about her...’’

‘’Mm, you really do care about her, don’t you, Lyre?’’ Vika comforted. ‘’She’s probably fighting for you, ya know.’’

The cat’s eyes lowered nostalgically as a tiny smile graced her face. ‘’Yeah, I guess she is. I remember when we were little, Lethe would aways look after me when I got scared. Once we got lost in the forest and she carried me until we found our village. I was so afraid that I couldn’t even move, crying and mewing about a little sprain on my leg. But Lethe still hugged me and trekked for hours with me on her back. Hehe, gods she was so banged up and tired that she collapsed as soon as we got to the hut. She held my hand for days after that, never letting me out of her sight.’’

‘’See? Lethe probably has too many responsibilities to spend time with you. That doesn’t mean she wants to leave you alone, Lyre.’’

An orange tail wiggled slowly in the air as Lyre purred deeper into her thoughts. ‘’I do always find tacky souvenirs on my bedroll on the nights she comes home. Gods, I once woke up to face this creepy wyvren carving she probably bought at some Daein horror shop. Ha, scared the heck out of me!’’ Lyre hummed happily into her arms. ‘’Even though she’s a cold hearted wanderer and has terrible tastes in art, she’s still my sister. I really do love her...’’ 

Vika took an accomplished sip of tea as she watched the cat dreamily enjoyed the luxury of her memories. Lyre looked so happy, so content as she purred into her arms, head filled with peaceful warmth.

Oh well.

‘’My, my, Lyre. Seems you’re pretty fond of big sis, eh?’’ Vika seedily grinned. Lyre’s eyes widened, as if anticipating what was coming next. ‘’Who’s the one you really have a crush on: Ranulf or ‘strong and sexy’ Lethe?’’

The cat jerked so much she fell out of her chair, loudly crashing onto the marble floor before angrily jumping up yelling at Vika with a tomato-red blush. ‘’W-W-What the hell, Vika! I-I don’t mean that kind of love, y-you perverted, big-boobyied, jerk! Geeeez, first you try to add me to your harem, now you accuse me of...l-l-liking in that w-way, m-my sister?! You suuuuuuuck!’’

The two then go in a playful scuffle amongst the chairs and tables, Lyre defiantly banging her fists against the raven as Vika swiped at the cat with her wings, teasing her all the while.

‘’Yoo-hoo! Vika!’’

A loud cry stopped the two in the middle of the fray, staring down the road to the wolf queen walking towards them with a big grin, though Vika could see the smile weaken a fraction as she saw the raven in Lyre’s arms.

‘’Look who it is, Vika.’’ the cat whispered, hands wrapped around the raven in an armlock. ‘’If it isn’t your crush. Or lover, who knows what you two do in your room, right?’’

The raven sighed. She knew this was coming. ‘’Y-You think you’re gonna get me back for my teasing, don’t ya?’’ she grunted, wiggling her way free from Lyre’s hold. ‘’W-Well come at me, cat! I can take it!’’

Vika sharply gasped as she suddenly felt Lyre seductively wrap around her body, her voice hot and coy in her ear. ‘’Oh, you might be able to, Vika.’’ The cat then slowly caressed the raven’s neck towards Nailah, who had stopped right in the middle of the street, jaw hanging loosely. ‘’But she won’t.’’

Vika shuddered and cawed as she felt the Gallian’s eager tongue trace a wet line from the base of her neck to her cheek, before ending in a long, sloppy, kiss, moan and all. A shrill squawk escaped Vika’s throat as she staggered back, red-faced and fuming at her assaulter as the amused cat backed off and bolted towards the castle in a cloud of giggles, Vika catching a taunting wink as she disappeared into the crowd.

The raven didn’t even get a chance to give chase before brown, forceful, arms quickly turned her body around to face the wolf queen herself, eyes burning and cheeks afire.

‘’W-What the hell was that, bird! A-Are you sleeping with that Gallian hussy behind my back?!’’

In a blush just as red as Nailah’s, Vika squirmed and stammered in the Hatarian’s hold, madly wiping the drool off her face. ‘’I-I-It’s not w-what it seems like! S-S-She...I...L-Lyre was just playing around, I-I swear! I-I’m sorry, Nailah.’’ she squeaked, shameful tears pricking at her eyes at the thought of angering her friend.

Nailah’s rage evaporated the second she saw the raven’s whimpering, sheepishly rubbing her head before wrapping an arm around the girl. ‘’Ahhh, i-it’s alright, bird. I mean it wasn’t your fault or anything. S-So stop your blubbering! I don’t like making cute girls cry.’’

‘’Sniff...really? Y-You’re not mad?’’ the raven whimpered with glossy eyes.

‘’Y-Yeah, really. Can’t stay mad at you for long, Vika.’’ Nailah scuffling Vika’s messy hair, innerly enjoying how cute the raven’s tearful face looked like. ‘’Oh yeah, reason I’m here!’’ The Hatarian took Vika’s hand in her own and began to lead the flustered raven into town. ‘’Walk and talk with me, bird.’’

Thus, the two friends strolled through the castle town together. They walked in silence for a little while, appreciating the scenery or waving to familiar faces in the crowd. Vika had noticed Nailah acting rather odd during the walk, head looking around a bit too fast and hand sometimes reaching into her clothes before stoping halfway with a grimace, awkwardly trying to fein an itch. Finally, the wolf queen sighed and tapped her on the shoulder, stealing her attention.

‘’Hey, Vika.’’ she said, a bit more calm than Vika had expected. ‘’Do you still remember when we first met, in the meadow back in Daein?’’

The raven blushed slightly at the memory. How could she possibly forget meeting the beautiful queen under the star-studded sky, racing along the wolf’s back while she comforted Vika’s mental wounds. It was a night engraved into her mind. ‘’Y-Yeah, I do. What of it?’’

‘’Y-Yeah! Me t-too! Well-...Pfttt, hahaha!’’

Vika jumped at the sudden laughter, feeling oddly hostile. ‘’W-What’s so funny, Nailah?!’’

‘’I-I-I’m sorry, erk!’’ the wolf cackled through her tears, many Gallians giving the pair strange looks. ‘’I-I was just remember how terrified and cute you looked, hugging onto my back for dear life, hehe.’’

‘’J-Just get on with it!’’

She wiped the last tear from her eye, letting out a long, nostalgic, sigh before continuing. ‘’Anyways, you recall that I mentioned a ‘Irakih Day’?’’ The wolf then rummaged through her pockets before pulling out something sparkly. ‘’Here, for you.’’

Vika’s breathing stopped as her trembling eyes made out the object in Nailah’s sweaty palms. It was a gorgeously crafted golden necklace, glistening in the sunlight. The outline was of a howling wolf head, its features akin to Nailah’s as it silently bellowed in the sunlight. Along the face was a number of beautiful teal gems, perfectly cut and dazzling. She didn’t dare touch the token, for fear of contaminating it with her sticky fingers.

‘’N-N-Nailah! Wha...What is this?’’ 

A small smile appeared on Nailah’s face as she looked towards the sky, eyes searching for something that couldn’t be seen. ‘’Nabihci Irakih. It means ‘first light’ in ancient speak. On the first crescent moon of the summer season, people all across Hatari exchange gifts with their lo- err, friends to wish each other a happy and prosperous year, just like the first sliver of the moon heralds the brightening of the summer nights.’’ 

The wolf queen then lifted the necklace up and gently placed it around the neck of the stunned raven, hands lingering a bit as she enjoyed the warmth of the flustered girl’s skin. ‘’I want you to have this, Vika, a present for the coming years and a memento to remember me by. I had a smith craft it from some Hatari gems I brought over and augmented with the finest gold. Hehe, it looks good on you...’’

Was she on fire? She was probably on fire. Vika could barely breathe through the heat on her face as Nailah, oh so lovingly, stared at the raven, green eye more peaceful than any other time Vika had seen it. Before she could be reduced to a puddle, the Hatarian suddenly jerked her hands away and wobbled her body away from the raven, a faint tinge of colour on her cheeks.

‘’S-So y-yeah! Y-You look good! O-Oh but I-I already said that, d-didn’t I, ha,heh...’’ The skittish wolf was looking panicky at the surrounding buildings, or pretty much everywhere but Vika. ‘’U-U-U-Um, I-I gotta go water the laundry so s-see ya!’’ 

Vika didn’t even get a chance to say goodbye before the woman bolted off towards to castle, toppling over a couple of muscular tiger laguz as she screeched away. Vika didn’t move from that spot for what felt like ages. She gingerly clutched the glimmering necklace in hands as if it was a newborn, tracing the solid curves on the structure while watching the jewels dance with a million rays of light against the smooth, gold surface. She felt like she was touching the wolf queen herself, the warm metal strangely nostalgic of the wolf queen’s fluffy fur. She could almost smell the lingering scent of the musky desert on the pendant.

‘’Arrrrrrgh...’’ she slowly moaned, holding the gift to her chest. ‘’Damn it, Nailah. I don’t know how much more my heart can take.’’

 

‘’Meooooow! I said I was sorry, Vika!’’ the little kitten cried as a rather angry raven dragged her by the ear and through the streets. ‘’Stooooop, that’s my charm point! How will I look good for the captain noooow!’’

Her tormentor just scowled as she continued to walk, indifferent to the worried stares of the villagers. ‘’I don’t care if Ranulf never talks to you again, you freaking deserve it. You LICKED me in front of Nailah! You practically french kissed my cheek! Goddess, I think I was crying in embarrassment.’’

Finally, Lyre felt the iron grip disappear around her poor ear, looking up to see that they were in the shopping district of the castle town, stalls littering her sight as merchants noisily tried to sell their colourful wares. Staring back at Vika, she saw that her captor was blushing a bit as she folded her arms in front of her, playing around with something in her hands.

‘’Lyre!’’ the raven suddenly yelled, startling the cat and some around them. ‘’As p-punishment for your little stunt earlier, y-your gonna have to help me pick out a present for Nailah!’’ She opened her hands and dangled the beautiful necklace in front of Lyre, the cat’s eyes bulging out and staring at it lustily. ‘’S-She gave me this after you ran off a-and I want to gave her something back...I-I d-don’t know anything about gifts or shopping for girls.... s-so will you help me, please?’’ the raven finished meekly, forgetting that she was the one making demands in her shyness. 

The cat just stood rigid for a moment, still drinking in the item’s lustre, before perking up and leaping up to Vika, a big grin on her face.

‘’Holy crap, Vika! Did she freaking propose to you?! This thing is gorgeous!’’ she squealed, tail whipping excitedly.

‘’P-P-P-Pro-’’

‘’And now you want to give mating gift back, amiright? Well don’t worry, girlfriend! I’m an expert when it comes to knowing what women want, since I’m a gift romantic, myself.’’ The giddy cat then grabbed the raven’s hand and started to run, eyes twinkling.

‘’Come on then, Vika! Let’s go nab you that queen!’’

‘’H-Hey, stop you idiot! This isn’t a bridal shower! I’m supposed to be dragging you arouuuuund!’’

Thus, Vika was swiped off into the lively bazaar. As they bobbed through the stores and stalls, the raven started to regret bring the cat along as she clearly wasn’t as knowledgable as she claimed. Her teeth grit at every recommendation the Gallian offered her, ranging from a furry corset to a literal crate of chocolate. She especially flared when Lyre suggested she buy a very revealing set of lingerie, so skimpy, that Vika thought it was a clump of yarn when see first laid eyes on it. After an hour or so of searching and sweating, the two decided to stop for a drink, bodies exhausted from their fruitless effort.

‘’Man, you are such a hard lady to please!’’ Lyre groaned as she sipped up a purplish liquid while they resumed their walking. ‘’Here I am helping you get the girl of your dreams and you shoot down every one of my suggestions.’’

Vika spat out her melon juice in anger, wings splaying. ‘’I am trying to get a gift for a FRIEND! Giving your friend sexy underwear is not a very comfortable thing to do, damn it!’’ 

Despite this, the raven’s eyes glazed at the thought of the Hatarian in those perverse fatigues. All that succulent, brown skin showing, the almost non-existent string leaving nothing to the imagination...

She savagely shook the thoughts out of her head, cheeks melting. ‘’B-Beside, Nailah isn’t like most other girls, and she is certainly not like you!’’ Worry blurred her eyes. ‘’Ergh, what the hell am I gonna buy her...’’

‘’Aww, don’t be such a downer, Vika! I’m pretty sure the queen’s head over heals for ya! She’d love it even if you gave her some olivi grass and a hug!’’ she cheered, patting Vika on the head.

‘’Y-You really think so? You think she likes me that much?’’

Lyre smirked at the innocent raven, clearly much more interested in the latter idea. ‘’Yeah, yeah. But that still doesn’t mean we just ditch this whole quest for a gift! Oh, I wonder if I should get a symbol of my love for Ranulf too!’’ she swooned, momentarily forgetting Vika’s troubles. ‘’It’ll be something manly that compliments his big muscles, maybe an energy drop, or a swimsuit, or...or....’’

The cat suddenly stopped in front of an accessory store, her eyes glued onto the window as they peered through the glass. Vika nudged her over and saw that Lyre seemed to enraptured by a bell. It was stunning little thing, steel expertly forged and decorative ruins lining the surface. The base of the bell was connected to a strand of fine, silk, ribbon, dyed a vivid forest green that seemed to capture the essence of Gallia itself. 

‘’Er, it’s pretty and all, Lyre, but I don’t think this would fit Ranulf exactly.’’ Vika offered, stifling a laugh as she imagined Lyre’s strange fetishes involving her commander.

‘’I-It’s not for Ranulf, stupid!’’ the cat cried, before lowering her eyes a fraction. ‘’Sigh, despite being such a serious stick in the mud, Lethe loves bells. When we were kids, she would always beg mother to add one of the things to her hair. Gods, she looked ridiculous, running around with ten or so bells on top of her head! You could hear her coming from a mile away!’’

She smiled. ‘’I wanna buy this for Lethe, so she can remember me when we’re apart. She used to share some of her prettiest bells with me, since I cried and sniffed about how I wanted to look like her too. Maybe it’s time I returned the favour, ya know?’’

Vika gave the cat a warm smile and a reassuring pat on the back. ‘’I’m sure she’d love it, Lyre. Do whatever makes you happy.’’

‘’R-Really? E-Even though we came out here to get you a gift?’’

‘’It’s fine, it’s fine. I’ll even spot you for some.’’ The raven took out a small pouch of gold and tossed it into the cat’s unsuspecting hands. ‘’Now go make up with you sister. Nailah will stay antsy as long as you’re still single while hanging around me.’’

Lyre’s eyes leaked happy tears as a great smile stretched her face. She jumped upon the raven and wrapped her in a big hug, surprising Vika by giving her another kiss on the cheek, though much less slobbery and more friendly than last time. 

‘’Thanks, Vika.’’ she whispered, eyes glistening. ‘’You’re the best friend ever.’’

The raven chuckled as she hugged back before quickly being launched into the store by Lyre, feet scampering with glee. The inside of the store had a rustic charm, pretty jewellery and knick-knacks lining the shelfs while a hint of incense filled their noses. Lyre wasted no time and swiftly grabbed the bell before skipping her way to the elderly cashier, excitement written on both of their faces as a light jingle resonated through the store. Leaving the younger sister to her affairs, Vika decided to browse through the shop’s accessories. There was a great selection of merchandise, ranging from children’s bracelets to lavish jewelry, yet nothing really spoke out to her. That was, until her eyes caught sight of a very familiar glint. 

Sitting centrepiece among countless other jewels, was a silver pendant, shaped in a heart. Flawless, smooth, silver traced the outline of the shape as it wrapped around a big, radiant, emerald gem. The stone sparkled so vibrantly, so beautifully, as light danced off its surface, showering the room in hundreds of colourful prisms. It was mesmerizing, almost like she was staring at Nailah’s single, green eye itself. She shuddered.

‘’Whoa, that’s one nice looking necklace.’’ Lyre said as she stepped beside the raven, a small bag in her hand. ‘’But, meow, that’s a ridiculous amount of gold! It’s almost as much as the king gave you for escorting Rafiel!’’

‘’It may be pricey, young-uns, but it’s worth every gold!’’ the old man spoke up. ‘’Forged with the purest silver and studded with perfectly cut emeralds, it is the pinnacle of presents, the godsend of gifts! Truly meant for a person irreplaceable in your young heart.’’

Vika moaned, torn with the decision. It really was expensive, possibly more gold than she had ever made in her life before this journey. Yet, as she closed her eyes and imagined the pendant on the Hatarian, her resolve faltered. She wanted something that the wolf would remember her by, something that wouldn’t let their memories together fade. 

‘It really does look like the eye she is missing.’

She sighed, eyelids rising and coin pouch in her hand.

‘’I’ll take it.’’

 

The two laguz left the store, trinkets in hand as a very happy shopkeeper waved them goodbye. Vika joyfully stared at the pendant in her hand as she cradled the object to her chest, a skip in her step as she manoeuvred the crowed streets.

Lyre smirked. ‘’You really like this Nailah woman, don’t you? Man, I wish the captain loved me enough to get me something so expensive.’’ dipping off into her fantasies.

‘’It should have been something special, you know? After she gave me such a beautiful present, there’s no way I could have just given her a pat on the back.’’

A tickle of amusement ran through the cat’s body as she saw her friend squirm and fawn over her crush. The bird looked like she had just learned how to fly, her feathers flapping eagerly as a look of pure bliss blinded Lyre with its brightness. She just had to tease.

‘’I’ll say. Though, matching necklaces? A heart-shaped pendant? If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were the one proposing.’’ she finished with a grin.

Vika froze as she realized the implications of her gift, blood pooling to her face.

‘’O-Oh goddess, your right!’’ she yelped, cupping her cheeks. ‘’T-This is j-just too suggestive!’’ The raven grimaced as she imagined Nailah laughing at the cheesy gift while teasing her half-way to hell. ‘’Crap, Lyre, what do I do?! I already bought the thing!’’

Lyre giggled as the raven looked up at her with those pleading, teal, eyes, looking as lost as a child in a busy market.

‘Maybe I would have fallen for your charms, Vika.’ the cat mused, slightly infatuated with the cute little bird. ‘If only I wasn’t in love with Le- RANULF, RANULF. I MEAN RANULF.’

Pushing the thoughts out of her head, Lyre put a friendly arm over the raven’s shoulder and flickered at her long ears, inciting an annoyed wince. 

‘’Just joking, girl! Gods, you’re making me feel bad. Come on, you really think Nailah is gonna laugh in your face after she sees this hunk of caret?’’ The cat slipped her hand into Vika’s. ‘’She’ll love it, Vika. If she doesn’t, well then I’ll claw her face off myself.’’ the cat finished, flashing her little nails flauntingly.

A heartwarming smile blossomed on the raven’s lips as she breathed out a slight laugh. She almost believed that the little cat could take on the wolf queen given how trustworthy her words sounded. ‘’Hehe, I’ll take your word for it, Lyre.’’ returning the grip in her hand. ‘’And thanks for the shopping advice today. I think it really helped.’’

‘’Mm, anytime, Vika.’’ she mewed, wrapping her tail around the raven’s torso as she leaned closer. ‘’Anytime you feel like tossing gold my way again, just shout and I’ll be happy to help you with your love life.’’

The two giggled and teased each other all the way back to the castle, hand in hand and gifts chiming in the wind. 

 

By the time they reached the castle, the sun had already succumbed to the embrace of Ashera’s night. Bidding her friend goodbye, the raven quickly and nervously made her way to Nailah’s room, only to find that the place was empty. In a panic, Vika searched high and low around the royal palace, trying to find the recipient of her very expensive gift. Just before giving up, a strange song filtered into her ear as she fluttered up on the roof. It was a soothing and exotic lullaby which was sung in words unknown, yet the sheer beauty of the song transcended the language barrier as hymns and hums filled the night air. Peering down in the direction of the melody, Vika finally found the object of her interest laying down on the roof of a pavilion in the upper courtyard, contently watching the sky as the song continued to flow from her mouth. Flapping down next to the wolf, Nailah gave a surprised smile as she greeted her friend, vision falling on the golden necklace that swayed to and fro around her neck.

‘’Nailah, here you are! Goddess, I’ve been looking all over for you!’’ the raven berated, plopping down next to the queen with a drained sigh. 

‘’Hi to you too, Vika.’’ she grinned, sitting up to greet her friend. ‘’Necklace looks good on you by the way! So, what’s up, bird?’’

The raven’s mouth opened, yet no words came out. Oh no. The raven sat paralyzed for a moment as light blush rose to her face, trembling in embarrassment. 

‘’I-I-I, y-you, t-this...Eeeeeep!’’

Vika shielded her face in horror as Nailah watched, perplexed. 

‘Noooooo! Stop pissing your pants, Vika! Remember what Lyre said. She’s not going to laugh. She’s Nailah, she’s going to lov- holy shit, she’s gonna laugh her ass off!’

The wolf raised an eyebrow as Vika monologued with herself in a heavy sweat. 

‘’Uhh, Vika? You okay?’’ she said, placing a hand on Vika’s shoulder.

The unprecedented contact made the raven’s heart leap into her throat, scaring both parties as each stared at the other, bewildered.

‘’O-O-Oh, y-yeah! N-Never better!’’ the woman stuttered as she impulsively dug into her pocket and pulled out the pendant, offering the object to Nailah with eyes closed and hands shaking.

‘’T-This is for you!’’ she squeaked. ‘’I-I-I wanted to repay you for my necklace s-so I got you this. I-I know its cheesy looking a-and isn’t nearly pretty as the one you gave me, b-but happy... Ir...Ik...H-Hatari l-light day, Nailah!’’

The soft sounds of leaves rustling could be heard as Vika finished her confession, arms unmoving as they remained extended as before. The evening breeze did little to cool down the scarlet fire the raven felt burning on every inch of her skin as nervous whimpers escaped her shaky breath. 

‘HAPPY HATARI LIGHT DAY?! Goddess, kill me now. It’ll be quicker than letting my embarrassment burn me to death!...huh? Is it raining?’

Vika felt sudden droplets of water fall on her arm. Odd, as she didn’t feel the rain on any other part of her body. Creaking her eyes open, she abruptly realized that the moisture was not raindrops, but in fact tears. Nailah’s tears.

Noticing the treasonous liquid, Nailah swiftly erased their existence from her face, an strangely happy smile on her features. 

‘’N-N-Nailah?’’ 

‘’Sniff, ah, twice in a row, eh raven? You’re pretty good at this, sniff.’’ arms folded as she wiped the last of the tears away. She looked so serene, so innocent as the normally stoic queen sniffed happily under the moonlight. Vika’s heart beat all the faster. ‘’This...this is the most beautiful thing anyone’s ever given me. A-And I know it must have cost a fortune. Thank you, sniff, ah, Vika. I love it so much!’’ an almost girlish grin adorning the wolf queen’s face.

The raven just knelt there, rigid as the sweet nectar of the Hatarian’s words filled her soul. She liked it. Nailah loved her gift! And the expression she had on, one Vika had never seen the wolf make for anyone else before, was so dazzling, so stunning. It made the raven happier than she thought was possible. A hand slithered onto her knee as she noticed Nailah beckon to her, rough skin strongly caressing her softer flesh.

‘’Vika, could you...could you put it on me? The necklace?’’ she asked, shyly playing with a lock of her purple hair.

‘’O-Oh! O-Of course, Nailah!’’ remembering how the queen had placed her gift on her own neck.

Fumbling a bit, the flighty raven quickly rose and lifted the pendant up high, the silver glistening off the new moonlight. Licking her lips, she gently lowered the gift down onto Nailah, who was waiting patiently. Vika shuddered as she felt the Hatarian’s soft, luscious, curls as they brushed by, Nailah lightly moaning, before finally settling down on the wolf’s warm, brown, skin. It looked amazing on her.

Yet, Vika barely got a chance to admire the sight before Nailah sprung up with no warning and propelled herself right in front of the raven’s face, breath perfectly still.

‘’N-N-Nailah?...’’

Vika felt paralyzed on the spot. Her entire field of vision was filled with the Hatarian’s face as the queen held her head in place, mouths less than an inch away. Something tugged at Vika’s chest harder than anything had ever before. Looking into her friend’s eye, she saw that same look of uncertainty and helplessness she usually hated. Yet, this time, there was something different about it. The glimmer in her eye was less stressed, but more longing. Less hazed, but more passionate. It enraptured the raven, thrashing her heart against her ribcage. It captivated her so much that she made no movement against the increasing proximity of Nailah’s lips towards her own. 

‘Wh...Why can’t I move? How is she...so...’ Her unwillingness to react shocked her almost as much as how beautiful Nailah looked as she breathed against her face, brown skin lightly illuminated by a snow white moon. She remembered how many other times they were caught in such a situation, how her heart pounded just as hard against her bubbling chest. That radiance and beauty was everlasting and never failed to sink her deep into a warm trance. 

She could deny it no longer. Ever since she met the amazing woman, perhaps longer still, she had been madly in love with Nailah, always wanting and relishing in the time they spent together. Every part of her she loved, from her sunny and cheerful disposition, to the serenity and understandings that she showed whenever people needed her. Letting her body free in what felt like centuries, Vika succumbed to her desires with a shudder, lips and heart moving of their own accord as she slowly mirrored Nailah’s motions, drifting into the kiss that so had unconsciously longed so long for.

‘Nailah...’

Yet, like many, many, infuriating times before, Nailah’s thirsty lips never met hers, instead pausing just shy of Vika’s wishes before climbing up and kissing the raven’s forehead chastely with a defeated sigh. The look buried itself again as the wolf queen gingerly pushed Vika down to lay beside her. 

‘’...Thank you, Vika. I love it.’’ she finished, somewhat tiredly, as her eyes turned towards the crescent moon. 

The raven stared, disappointed, for a moment before giving an understanding smile and cuddling up to the woman, eyes following hers. Vika understood that Nailah had duties that couldn’t harbour a lover a continent away, commitments that would make their feelings all the more complicated. She would sooner be cast back into slavery for the rest of her life than to be a burden to her friend. Even if she had to cry herself to sleep every night, even if despair drowns out the rest of her days, well, she had the memories of these last few, perfect weeks in her mind to shine through the darkness. Vika would wait as long as need be for the woman, even if it never came. Nailah was worth that. 

Stars twinkled above the two as they lay nestled in each other’s arms and necklaces intwined together. A tear trickled out of Vika’s eye as she savoured the contact of the woman, breathing in that all too familiar desert scent. 

‘’I love it too, Nailah.’’


	11. Dreamers

War was upon the continent. Rafiel had shared with the lion king and the hawk king about a conspiracy regarding the Begnion senators which had sparked the Serenes Massacre. After having their messengers killed by the senate while confronting the men about the rumour, the laguz kingdoms of Gallia, Pheonicis, and Kilvas joined forces declared war on Begnion. 

Vika grit her teeth at the sudden shift in atmosphere around the royal palace. There was always soldiers in the courtyard practicing vigorous drills, always beasts slashing at training dummies, eyes pretending as if they were ripping into human flesh itself. They truly were setting back beorc/laguz relations a couple of centuries. 

 

‘’While we’re gone, I want you three to attend to duties around Gallia’s boarder; recon, escorts, whatever Caineghis wants you to do. General Giffca has the more serious tasks, so I want any small time duties to be taken off his hands.’’ Ranulf said as he walked Muarim, Tormod, and Vika through the much more busy halls of the palace, servants and soldiers run rampant through the stone corridors.

The cat had been going over routines and plans to the three all morning in preparation of the war. He, along with many of Gallia’s warriors, were leading an assault onto Begnion’s heart under the leadership of the king’s nephew, Skrimir. The blue cat seemed greatly affected by the looming war preparations, heavy bags under his eyes and a constant frown where his usual chipper grin once stood. 

‘’We understand, Ranulf.’’ responded Muarim. ‘’But, are you sure this war is a good idea? Begnion’s military is the most vast and well-equipped on Tellius. Do you think, even with the bird tribes, that you can win?’’

The commander scowled, clearly having second thoughts about the war himself. ‘’Yeah, I know the odds are against us. Even if we do manage to win, the casualties would be enormous.’’ An agitated breath condensed in the cold, morning air as the cat took a thoughtful look out the window. ‘’But that’s just how we Gallians are. My kin demand blood for the murder of our messengers and we can’t just let the senate step all over us like this. I hope something good will come from this all. Maybe this stupid war can make both sides realize how crappy the state of things are.’’

Muarim went up to distraught man and laid a comforting palm on his shoulder. ‘’I do not know if anything good can come from this bloodshed, but we will be happy to assist you all the same.’’ The tiger smiled. ‘’We are beast-kin too, Ranulf.’’

Ranulf retuned the smile as he began to relax slightly. ‘’Thanks, fellas. I really appreciate this. I’ll try to end it as soon as possible.’’ His ears suddenly perked up. ‘’Oh, that reminds me, most of the soldiers are going to hold a party in the castle town tonight. You guys should come.’’

Hesitating looks crossed the three mercenaries’ faces. ‘’Er, did you just say party? Right before a war? Who the heck has a bloody shindig during something so serious?!’’ Tormod miffed.

‘’Ha, laguz deal with war a lot better than beorc do. We kinda glorify it so we can get pumped before throwing ourselves onto the battlefield. A bunch of drinking, dancing, and maybe a couple of fireworks. It’ll be fun!

Before the three could respond to the strange offer, they were interrupted by a loud yell as a grey tiger shoved his way towards Ranulf, tailing wriggling excitedly as he greeted his superior. 

‘’Commander Ranulf! General Skrimir wishes for your presence! Something about sparring.’’

‘’Goddess, that man couldn’t tie his sandals without my help.’’ The cat then flashed a grin and wave as he started to disappear through the crowd with Kyza. ‘’Well, thanks and hope to see you three at the party!’’

As Ranulf went to aid his restless general, the three friends decided to stop at the nearby mess hall to fill their empty stomachs, thoughts of the upcoming war fresh in their minds. 

‘’Geez, after all the good I see on our little journey, the whole continent decides to break out into war, eh?’’ Vika sighed through a mouthful of apple, wings hanging loosely at her side.

‘’Aye, it’s a sad state of affairs indeed.’’ Muarim said, spinning a pear on the table, absently. ‘’While they are right to be angry, the consequences of this war will be felt for years to come. They could very well destroy themselves in their thirst for vengeance.’’

The rest of their meal was eaten in silence as the tense wartime atmosphere dampened the three’s usual conversations. Vika excused herself early on an account of a non-existent headache and fluttered through the walls of the castle, alone, as she tried to escape the physical world in the confine of her thoughts. She tried to remember less turbulent times, eating breakfast with her parents in the forest, getting her hair braided by Behna, or even the adventures she had just a few weeks prior.

Her mind, as always, eventually drifted the a certain wolf. The raven frowned as she recalled the two’s last conversation, when Vika had given her that pendant. Nailah had become somewhat distant after that night, often failing to meet her eyes. She had even stopped coming to Vika’s room at nights, leaving only a cold imprint in the white sheets where her body used to lay. 

She doubted that she could continue to lie to herself. She had feelings for Nailah. Whenever the Hatarian would smile, she would smile. Whenever she heard that vibrant, booming laugh, her heart would brighten. And now, whenever she stared at the empty space next to her pillow, tears would prick at her eyes. Her teeth grit at her weakness. Everytime she tried to convince her heart to discard those feelings, it simply ached harder to see the radiant wolf. She scowled.

Needing to erase her angst, the raven leaped out of a nearby window and soared down to the one of the upper courtyards, quirking an eye as she noted how strangely empty the place was in contrast to busy halls. Flapping her way to the canopy of a large tree, the raven rested her weary wings as she numbly stared at the bright, blue, sky above. Lazy, white, clouds drifted across the serene canvas, oblivious to the tension that was happening on the ground. They simply were content to float through the bright rays of sunshine without a care in the world, a beautifully tame sight in these turbulent times.

‘’I wonder if the skies in Hatari look prettier than ours...’’ she mumbled, wishing to get a glimpse of the homeland Nailah had romanticized so vividly. 

‘’If they are, than I can see why Rafiel was missing for so long.’’

The raven jolted at the sound of the sudden voice, balance lost as she tumbled down towards the ground in surprise. Rising up from the courtyard dirt, she was met with the regal presence of a heron. He seemed to be the splitting image of Rafiel, yet much more aged and frail looking. A long, well-kept beard, just as gold as his timeless hair, waved gently in the wind while his very exquisite looking white robe stood still and vigilant of its master. He smiled at the raven before getting of his bench and slowly offering a wrinkled hand.

Vika accepted the hand after mild hesitation, unsure of what to make of the man. She noticed the man did little more than steady her feet as she practically lifted herself up. ‘’U-Um, thank you! S-Sorry for dropping in on you like that! I didn’t know there was someone else sharing this tree!’’

‘’It is no trouble.’’ the old man reassured, his voice almost straining to form the words. ‘’My name is Lorazieh, former king of the haildom of Serenes. Forgive my weak words, since I was not expecting any visitors at present, given how those stone-faced canaries locked the whole courtyard down so I could get some fresh air.’’

Looking towards the entrance leading to the hallway, she noticed two, very intimidating, hawk laguz standing guard just outside the doorway, giving nasty looks to the Gallians as they walked on by. The raven stiffened as she realized she was intruding on the invaluable, and sickly, leader of the heron tribe. The hawk king would have all her feathers ripped off if he found out she was here.

‘’O-Oh, a thousand apologies, y-your grace! I-I just flew here by accident! I will leave at once!’’ she squawked, though her attempt to leave was blocked by a single, white wing.

‘’Please, it is no worry.’’ the man said, returning to his bench and patting on the space beside him. ‘’You must be Vika, the raven who helped escort my son back to his family. Join me for a moment, my friend. I wish to express my endless gratitude to you for allowing me to see Rafiel again.’’

Vika blushed at the high praise, sheepishly nodding before taking the spot he had offered. ‘’I-It’s not necessary, your highness. I really didn’t do too much, just pecked some bandits along the way. The others did much more than I did.’’ 

Lorazieh gave a weak chuckle in response, though it sounded more like wheezing to the raven, as he placed a tired hand on Vika lap. ‘’Never have I met such a modest raven before in all my years. You sell yourself too short, miss Vika. Rafiel told me that you risked life and limb to ensure his safety and also helped his regain a fraction of his wing strength.’’ The heron gave a light squeeze as wetness shone on his squinting eyes. ‘’You have no idea how happy I was when news came to me of his survival. Fire raced through these old bones like the wind through the air. When I finally saw him again for the first times in years, it made every miserable day since that dreadful night worth it. Thank you, raven. Thank you for giving me my son back.’’ the touched man finished, wiping the last of the wetness from his face.

Vika sheepishly smiled at the king’s kind words, feeling somewhat more proud of her role in helping the herons. The two then enjoyed a comfortable silence as they relaxed in the shade of the tree, eyes trailing around Ashera’s afternoon sky. She felt strangely calm, despite the how strained she felt earlier in the morning, almost as if the heron’s presence was enough to sooth the soul. Despite this momentary tranquility, however, her mind still strayed to her problems at present. She wondered if the king had approved of this war, if he felt that this was a chance to avenge his wronged people. The raven inwardly cursed her thoughts, feeling as if her negative aura was befouling the very air.

‘’King Lorazieh?’’ she chanced, curiosity getting the better of her. ‘’Do you think this war will change things for the better? That this can make things ‘right’?’’

The heron offered her an intrigued glance, much to Vika’s embarrassment, before stroking his beard in consideration, the wind swaying in response. ‘’You wish to know if the supposed justice for my slain people and the Gallian’s slain messengers is worth this bloodshed?’’ he hummed, Vika flinching at how well he had predicted her thoughts.

‘’That is not an question that I can answer, my friend, for there is nothing that I wish to be gained from this war.’’

Vika’s eyes widened. ‘’S-Surely you want something to be done in wake of the massacre!’’ she cried, amazed at how lenient the man was in the face of the tragedy. ‘’There is nothing you want to be accounted for, no ends you wish to see tied?!’’

Lorazieh simply shook his head, eyes falling back upon the blue expense above him. ‘’I have only one desire I want to see come true before these weary, old feathers rest for good, and that is the happiness of my children. My laguz brethren fight to avenge their fallen comrades and to prove their worth to the humans. I do not necessarily approve of their actions but I respect their commitment to achieve their goals. If I am to measure to this, than I too must take action to see my dreams come true.’’

The man slowly inched himself up from the bench before lowering himself down to the grass, hunched over on the ground and eyes focused on a patch of soil. There, stood a lowly ghost of a flower, its petals wilted and surface brown as Ashera slowly claimed its life. Lorazieh gently leaned back before bathing the plant in an odd light. 

The raven watched in surprise as the heron suddenly started singing, voice significantly stronger than before as an ancient language began to pour out of his mouth. Vika recognized the melody as the same song that Rafiel had once sung for Muarim after the tiger’s mind had been warped by the Feral One’s drug. The song sounded no less powerful from his father’s voice, and Vika once again found herself entranced by the soothing magic of the legendary Galdr of Rebirth. Her eyes peeling back to the flower, Vika loudly gasped as she saw the effects that the song had. The dead bud was coming back to life. Petals regained their lustre, stems regained their strength. As the heron’s song came to a close, the flower stood beautiful and serene in the sunlight, looking like it was fresh out of a wedding bouquet. 

‘’Wha-...How did?...!’’ 

Lorazieh silenced her with a wave and a smile, slowly combing the white petals with his fingers. ‘’I’ve been practicing galdr for quite some time now. My sickness had once robbed me of my magic and imprisoned my body to the bedpost. It wasn’t until recently that I decided to harden my physique and train my voice.’’ 

The heron returned to the bench, sitting down while he admired his work. ‘’I wish to return to Serenes one day and sing the forest back to life. I want to make the trees and plants even brighter than before the massacre, so that, not only my children, but people of all races can once again appreciate its beauty. I want to see Rafiel sleep beneath the shade of an oak tree on lazy afternoons. I want to see Reyson mingle with his friends as they enjoy succulent fruits fresh from the forest. I want to sing with Leanne again before an audience of happy listeners.’’

He turned to Vika, eyes alight. ‘’There could be more of my people out there, raven, more of my children, waiting to return. If I can make our old home a beacon for them to flock to, if I can make the people whom I once failed to protect, happy again, than every bit of hardship and pain up to that point will have been well worth it, Vika. That is what it means to fight for a dream.’’

The raven shuddered at the powerful words, taken aback by the sickly man’s incredible will. ‘’You...you have an amazing resolve, your highness.’’ she sighed, before frowning a fraction. ‘’I wish I had half your strength.’’ The raven cheerlessly put a hand up the the sun, watching the ray of light leak past her fingers and sting at her eyes. ‘’It seems everything I hold dear just slips right through my fingers and I’m powerless to stop it.’’ she lamented, images of her unreachable saviour slipping further away.

Vika suddenly jolted as she felt the heron began to curl her fingers together, forming a tight fist. ‘’Then you must find something worth fighting for, so dear to you, that you refuse to ever let go. I can sense that you have a dream, raven, a dream that means more to you than all the stars in the sky, and the object of this desire is the the person you want to protect with every fibre of your being, even if it means protecting her from yourself. You are in love with the wolf queen, correct?’’

She made a mental note to apologize to Rafiel the next time she saw him, since the moment those words left Lorazieh’s mouth, the raven sputtered and spit all over the exalt’s face, blushing up a storm.

‘’Wh-What are y-you, I-I-I’m n-not, h-how did you...!!!’’

The king chortled in amusement as he wiped the wetness from his face and tried to pacify the hysterical raven. ‘’Peace, peace, miss Vika! Herons can sense and read the thoughts of other individuals. Did Rafiel not tell you this?’’

‘’Wha- NO!’’ Vika fumed, feeling shameful enough to jump off the balcony with her wings tied. Her face suddenly lost all colour. ‘’Oh goddess, does that mean Rafiel knew all about those bubbly feelings I had for Nailah during the way here?’’ Tears threatened to crash forwards as she gripped her head and moaned. ‘’How can I show my face in front of him ever again?!’’

Lorazieh sighed in defeat, leaning his back against the tree and deciding to carry on with his story regardless of raven’s current state of anarchy. ‘’Ah raven, you continue to humour me so. While I may seem resolved now, I was a complete wreak of a laguz just following the massacre. It was only until news came to me of my daughter's survival, and subsequently, my first son’s, that I was able to find the spark in life to carry on.’’

He put a light hand on Vika’s shoulder, the raven somewhat recovering from her panic attack. ‘’Use that love for your friend as your spark, the reason why you get up every morning. Use it to achieve your dreams, miss Vika.’’

As the heron finished his speech, Vika let out the last of her sniffles as her heart began to respond to the king’s words, beating excitedly. For just a moment, she wondered if there was something that she could do, if there was a way to make both of them happy. Goddess knows she would move the stars themselves to have the wolf queen by her side again. She dimmed those thought down, however, not wanting to get her hopes up.

‘’Hmm, I’ll k-keep that in mind, your majesty. But, d-don’t tell anyone about how I...’’ She squirmed. ‘’...I-I-I enjoy Nailah’s company, okay? P-Promise!’’

Lorazieh lightly reassured the blushing raven through his mirth. Vika, gritting her teeth in an attempt to chew away embarrassment, eventually gave up, deciding to try and move conversation to less intimate affairs. 

The two birds proceeded to talk their worries away, Vika telling the king about her adventures with his son, while Lorazieh told the curious raven about the grand forest of Serenes during its prosperity. Vika didn't have many memories of the forest, since her parents left with her almost immediately after she was born. She felt thrilled as she listened to stories of the fabled place through the words of its former ruler, eyes sparking as Lorazieh described the rich flora and how the herons would sing the forest awake at every dawn, while bird kin of all kinds watched in peace. The two didn’t realize how much time had passed until their eyes were drawn to shimmering lights radiating from the castle town, orange glow a stark contrast to the now indigo sky. 

‘’Oh, looks like the party is starting.’’ Vika hummed, noticing many Gallians flock from the castle, and into the bustling town. ‘’Are you going, your majesty?’’

The heron slowly got up from the bench and peeked his head over the balcony. ‘’Ha, it seems much too lively for my old bones. Me and my daughter will be having dinner with lord Caineghis, though I believe Reyson was going to show Rafiel how to ‘party the hawk way’.’’ Lorazieh chuckled. ‘’I find it hard to believe how much King Tibarn influenced him.’’

‘’Hey, what the hell are you doing with lord Lorazieh?!’’

Turning about, Vika saw the two hawk guards furiously glaring daggers at the raven, wings beating audibly as they started to race towards the trespasser.

‘’Ah, about time they finally noticed me. I could have assassinated you and have been halfway to Kilvas in that time.’’

‘’My, my, that is true.’’ the king smirked, laughing a bit at how oblivious they were to the raven’s presence. ‘’I must petition Tibarn for more attentive guardsmen. Anyways, that is your cue to make haste, my friend.’’ The heron lightly fluttered between Vika an the oncoming guards, nodding his head in appreciation as a serene smile softly lay hidden beneath his flowing beard. ‘’Thank you for keeping an old man company and best of luck with your dreams, Vika.’’ 

Vika grinned. ‘’Mmm, anytime, sir. I look forwards to seeing Serenes again so you better make it nice and raven friendly!’’ While a light hug and a quick wave farewell, Vika shifted and shot right off the balcony, leaving a trail of hawken yells and jet-black feathers in her wake.

 

The horrors of war seemed almost non-existent as the raven flew through the cool, festive, air. As she soared over the town, she saw many Gallians drinking and dancing the night away as they partied under the colourful festival lights. The great and determined warriors she had just earlier this morning see rip at training dummies with such tenacity, now jumped about the town, singing and bobbing for apples. Some were even chanting war songs around a blazing fire, playfully sparring with each other as the stars twinkled above them. 

‘They really want to achieve their goals, don’t they? They fight to hold onto their happiness, to preserve moments such as this. I wish I could be that strong.’ 

Her feathers rustled mid-flight as she heard a familiar jingle on the wind, snapping her out of the melancholy thoughts. On the outskirts of the town, Vika could make out two distinct cat forms approaching the festival. One was unmistakably Lyre, orange ears happily flopping against the night, while the other seemed to be a more mature and muscular version of her friend, dressed in green fatigues and clad in all manners of jingly accessories. Lyre was latching onto the other cat’s arm, animatedly chatting while her captive absently listened, a slight coloration on her face.

Intrigued, Vika decided to fly over to kittens, landing and reverting in front of the two in a smooth and swift fashion. The raven noticed the other cat instinctively snarl and place herself between Vika and the younger cat, eyes afire. The tense standoff was quickly resolved, however, when Lyre squealed at the sight of her friend and ran past her protector’s arms into a happy hug with the raven. She could make out a tinge of jealousy on the other cat’s features. 

‘’Vika! Fancy meeting you here!’’ Lyre mewed, tail wiggling warmly. ‘’Party’s the other way, girl! What are you doing out in the wilds?’’

‘’Nice seeing you too, kittycat.’’ she smirked, rubbing the cat’s fluffy hair. ‘’I was just in the middle of a stroll, before I saw you and this pretty thing having a romantic walk through the forest. I was just waiting for you guys to get freaky in the woods.’’

Heat blossomed on Lyre’s face like a wildfire, hairs standing up on edge. The other cat, however, merely made an inquisitive face, the lewd implications of the quip lost on her innocent ears. Vika suppressed a giggle, wondering if she took the teasing a bit too far. Lyre confirmed that thought as she angrily clawed at the raven’s face, Gallian obscenities pouring out of her throat before she quickly made her way over to the other cat. 

‘’You big, stupid, lesbian, meanie!’’ she meowed, ear twitching defiantly. ‘’This is my SISTER. Lethe, this is my pervert best friend, Vika.’’

The cat’s expression significantly relaxed as she heard the name, eyes widening as she approached the woman. ‘’Y-You are that Vika? The raven who escorted prince Serenes to Gallia and the king’s honoured guest?’’ Lethe ducked into a professional curtsy and bow, her sister groaning in embarrassment. ‘’I am Lethe, soldier of Gallia and Lyre’s older sister. I thank you for helping the first prince greatly appreciate you putting up with my younger sister during your stay here.’’

‘’Putting up with?!’’

Vika laughed airily at the gesture before sticking out a hand. ‘’No need for the formalities, miss Lethe. And sorry about the whole ‘wilderness’ business. Teasing your sister is just my job, is all. Anyways, it’s nice to finally meet Lyre’s famous older sister.’’

The warrior graciously accepted the offer, adamantly shaking her hand while her sister watched, slightly envious.

‘’Likewise, raven. Lyre has been quite vocal about you after I returned home. I have not heard her talk so highly of someone since Ranulf. She is very fon-’’

Lyre gave an indignant cry as she raced over and clamped her hands around Lethe’s mouth. ‘’N-Nooo! D-Don’t say that, you dolt!’’ Yet, the damage was already done, a disgustingly taunting grin dancing on Vika’s face as cat shrunk in horror. ‘’A-Anyways, are you heading to the party soon?’’ she squeaked, trying to change to topic. Me and big sis were just on our way back from visiting our village and were just heading t-to.’’ 

‘’Mm, I’m still indecisive myself, sunshine.’’ the raven said, flicking at the flustered cat’s floppy ears. ‘’It just kinda rustles my feathers partying right after a massive war.’’

Regaining her composure, the cat scoffed, arms leaning on her hips. ‘’Aww, don’t be such a downer, Vika! You gotta find something worth fighting for before all hell breaks loose! I know I’m gonna party ‘til the goddess tells me to stop so I can get my blood rolling for this fight!’’

Lethe’s face became stained with sudden anger, eyes dismissing the idea instantly. ‘’Lyre!’’ she yelled, harshly gripping onto her sister’s arm. ‘’I’ve already told you that you can’t join in on the war! You are much too inexperienced!’’

The carefree look on Lyre’s face vanished in an instant, hurt instead replacing it. Her emotions then flared once again, mirroring her sister’s anger. ‘’W-What are you talking about?! I-I’m just as strong a fighter as anyone in the army! You can’t let me sit on the sidelines while everyone else goes to die, w-when you go to-’’

‘’Lyre!’’ the elder sister snarled, not allowing any excuses. ‘’Do not make me repeat myself again! You will only hold us back, Lyre, and thus will have no place in this war!’’

Bitter tears stung the younger sister’s face. The cat weakly attempted to hide her heartbroken grimace as clenched fingers dug deep into her palms. ‘’You... you always leave me behind, Lethe. Why won’t you let me stay by your side? You have no... no idea, h-how much I-I...’’ 

In a fit of sorrow and anguish, Lyre loudly slapped her sister across the face, droplets of moisture escaping from her eyes, before the cat scornfully raced away from the two and towards to town, the pitiful sounds of repressed sobbing left in her wake. 

‘’Lyre!’’ the raven cried, though the cat was already halfway to the city boarders by the times her wings unfurled. Sinking down in defeat, Vika gave a tired huff. ‘’Don’t be like that...’’

‘’It’s alright.’’ 

Turning around, Vika saw that Lethe’s professional and stoic expression had returned, despite the recent blow that reddened on her cheeks. ‘’She can hate me as much as she wants and you are free to do so too.’’

Vika stared at the Gallian soldier for a moment, then to the slowly disappearing dot in the distance, before surprising the older sister with a reassuring smile. ‘’I know what you are trying to do, miss Lethe. I’ve seen for myself that Lyre is a well-versed and capable warrior, and would be a fine addition to the army.’’ The cat stiffened as Vika walked over and wrapped a warm wing around her flush body. ‘’You simply don’t want to put her in danger. You can’t stand the thought of your beloved little sister being hurt while following you into a fight.’’

Cracks started to appear in Lethe’s facade as the raven’s words flowed. Wavering, tight lips began to cast downwards and quiver. Small pools of water touched the cat’s once strong eyes as soft hand slowly caressed the red spot where her own blood had slapped her.

‘’...Why do you think I fight so hard, raven? All my power, all my bravado, I fight with the strength of two warriors so that Lyre does not have to. If being despised by the person I love the most means keeping her safe, then that is a fair price.’’

The forest wind tussled her feathers as Vika sadly stared at the cat. Despite her words, she could she longing and misery reflected in those glassy eyes, silently wishing for the comfort of a sister she could never have. ‘’I don’t think she hates you at all, Lethe.’’ the raven whispered, getting a distant hum from her companion. ‘’She has nothing but praises to sing about you when we’re together. Hell, she talks about you more than she does of Ranulf.’’

‘’What?! Truly?!’’ the cat hollered, body jolting about in the raven’s feathery hold.

‘’Hm, yes, yes.’’ Vika chuckled, amused at the seemingly shocking compliment. ‘’She told me of how you carried her home when you two were lost and about how beautiful you looked with all those bells in your hair. She absolutely loves you, Lethe, and I’m sure you already know that, apparent from your choice in accessories. 

Lethe blushed heavily under the pale rays of the moon, hand gingerly falling onto the ornate, silver, bell Vika had seen her friend pick out for her. It jingled pleasantly as Lethe lovingly played with it, singing in her hands. ‘’I...I cannot let anything happen to my sister. Were there a way to explain it to her without harming her, I would, oh goddess, I would... but her safety comes first.’’

The raven grumbled before cupping the surprised cat’s cheeks in her hands and touching their foreheads together. ‘’Lethe. How do you think Lyre would react if you didn’t come home? If she was at tuckered away like a princess, helplessly waiting while her sister died miles away?’’

The shuddering cat’s mouth opened and closed, yet no words came out, unable to find an argument. Vika smiled.

‘’Let her be by her big sister’s side. Fight your hardest to protect her on the battlefield and thank her when she protects you. If she lets the chance to save your life slip away, she would be crushed, both physically and mentally. So fight your damnedest to protect both her safety and her happiness. You aren’t one of Gallia’s greatest warriors for nothing.’’

Vika felt the cat’s heartbeat quicken against her chest, eyes glistening as her words began to repeat themselves in her mind. ‘’I...I hadn’t thought about it that way...She...she has suffered so much because of me. Goddess, I am so stupid...’’

‘’Your heart was in the right place, Lethe. Now let Lyre’s heart beat next to it.’’ the raven breathed, pushing the cat towards the village. ‘’Go. Go find your sister and never let go. Both you and Lyre deserve that.’’ 

A caring gaze stared out into the town, eyes reaching out to their object of affection. ‘’Yes... you are right. Thank you, miss Vika. You have saved us in more ways than one.’’ 

The cat then gave Vika a meaningful hug before shifting and racing towards the bright light of town, her silver gift jingling in the wind.

‘’Hm, keep her safe, Lethe.’’

With her job done, Vika once again flew aimlessly around the countryside, too tired and stressed to join in on the party. She eventually found herself in a tranquil meadow, grass swaying peacefully and serenely as Ashera’s starry night floated gently above them. Letting out a weary sigh, she flapped her wings over to a large oak tree situated on top of a tiny hill. Vika let her sore body delicately collapse into the wooden embrace of the tree as her eyes stared up at fragmented, starry, sky, partially blocked by branches of swaying leaves. As she watched the dark wisps of cloud lazily drift across a twinkling sea of light, the heron king’s words started to leak into her mind, once again filling the raven’s head with light purple curls and an exotic, airy, laughter. 

The sweet sound rang damnable in her ears. She cursed her patheticness as she squirmed under the weight of the moonlight. Why did the goddess have to make love feel so good? Why did she make Vika crave it, lust for the next beating of her heart. Why did Ashera have to craft something so beautiful and perfect as Nailah and then steal her away from the raven?

Her breath chaotically roamed through the air, the white, smoky, puffs dancing wildly against the darkness for the smallest fraction of time before suddenly fading and being forever lost in the wind. She refused to believe her time with Nailah was just a single, bright, blip of joy in her bleak life. She had no greater desire than to continued being held in those soft, strong arms she had shared so many laughs in, cried so many tears in. Tears once again tugged at her shiny eyes as her memories mocked her with the dream she was never allowed to see. Tired, needy eyes stared up at the white, full, moon. It reflected both its image and it’s goddess’s indomitable law as it shone bright against the raven’s wide, pure, eyes.

‘’Ah, my goddess. You can be so cruel.’’ she whispered, desires lingering unsaid on the wind.

''Hmph. Something on your mind, bird?''

Reflections of a pleasant past flickered through her mind at the sound. As she faced her guest, Vika's beady eyes soon found their way to the source of the voice; a pure-white wolf, her coat shining radiantly in the glow of the moon as alabaster fur gently swayed in the wind.

However, as soon as the wolf appeared, it began to disappear, the new laguz gradually assuming a more humanoid form.

Sharp claws began to form slender fingers and the beautiful white coat was quickly replaced with a wild shade of brown, which reminded her of the endless sands of the Grann Desert. As the transformation came to an end, Vika was greeted with the sight of a beautiful woman, her purple hair pleasantly nostalgic of the white wolf's coat and long, exotic flaps of fabric concealing her left eye.

_Nailah._


	12. My Radiant Dawn

Reflections of a pleasant past flickered through her mind at the sound. As she faced her guest, Vika's beady eyes soon found their way to the source of the voice; a pure-white wolf, her coat shining radiantly in the glow of the moon as alabaster fur gently swayed in the wind.

However, as soon as the wolf appeared, it began to disappear, the new laguz gradually assuming a more humanoid form.

Sharp claws began to form slender fingers and the beautiful white coat was quickly replaced with a wild shade of brown, which reminded her of the endless sands of the Grann Desert. As the transformation came to an end, Vika was greeted with the sight of a beautiful woman, her purple hair pleasantly nostalgic of the white wolf's coat and long, exotic flaps of fabric concealing her left eye.

Nailah. She looked just as gorgeous and radiant as when they first met.

 

 

Snapping out of her daze, the raven jumped violently as she was suddenly graced with the presence of object of her desires, purple hair flowing softly in the meadow air. With a smirk, she slowly made her way over to raven, plopping down right next to Vika with an airy sigh, their arms meeting in the faintest of brushes.

‘’N-N-Nailah! Wha-Why are you here?!’’ she squeaked as a familiar, musky, scent tingled in her nose.

‘’I was going to ask you the same thing, bird.’’ the wolf breathed, playfully flicking the raven on the shoulder. ‘’I couldn’t properly enjoy myself without the feeling of a certain, sexy, laguz by my side.’’

A hot blush burned on her face. It felt like it had been years since her face had heated from one of Nailah’s teasing quips. Against her wishes, her lips gradually turned upwards as her heart danced with taboo. She didn’t mind it this time. 

‘’Y-You are too bold, your majesty.’’ she smirked through her blush, hand covering her face in an attempt to hide her giddiness. ‘’Surely there was a treasure chest of attractive cats at the festival. Are your hands that desperate for my skin, oh wolf queen of Hatari?’’ leaning in seductively towards the woman.

Vika’s heart sang as she saw a tiny patch of red travel across the Hatarian’s cheeks, Nailah fidgeting slightly before playfully dragging a thin finger down the length of the raven’s neck, inciting both giggles and shudders. ‘’Hmph, do you not recall your courtships during the Crimean festival nor your needy hands whenever I comfort you? If I am desperate for your skin, then you are addicted to my touch.’’

A lively squeal sparked out of the raven’s throat as she abruptly felt Nailah’s antsy fingertips run across her abdomen, tickling the flighty raven. The ensuing battle was filled with frantic laughter as the two traded tingling blows, finally ending when the two fell exhausted against the tree trunk, mirthful pants warming the air. The night sky paraded its glory in full this evening. Stars glimmered like sky-bound diamonds against a entrancing sea of black. Dust swirls could be seen in their complete lustre as they painted a dazzling picture to been appreciated thousands of leagues away.

‘’This is just like when we first met, eh?’’ the wolf sighed, eyes trained on the moon. ‘’Man, it felt like ages ago.’’

Vika calmed her breathing down before flashing a happy grin, following the wolf’s gaze. ‘’Mm, yeah, if only I knew what I was getting myself into, I would have stayed in my tent.’’ she joked, getting a miffed elbow to the ribs in response. Her eyes took a softer tone, though, as she inched closer to her friend, blades of grass teasing her skin as she moved. ‘’Hehe, but seriously. I loved every moment of our time together, Nailah. I’ll...I’ll treasure them for the rest of my life, even after you...you go back to Hatari. Thank you.’’

Nailah produced a soft hum as Vika rested her head on her shoulder. She was still for a moment, eyes wordlessly drinking in the form of the raven slumped against her body. Vika then felt a warm, calloused hand find its way into her palm. She then blushed as she felt the accompanying nuzzle of the wolf queen’s head against her hair, sending goosebumps racing down her spine. ‘’Hm, I loved it too, Vika. I’ll never forget you either, my precious, little bird.’’

Vika bit back the tears that threatened to leak through her eyes. Why did Ashera taunt her so? Every moment she spent with Nailah made it hurt that much more when she thought about their inevitable departure. Yet, Nailah’s smiling face was impossible to resist. She didn’t care about the pain right now, didn’t care about any aspects of saying goodbye to the holder of her heart. Right now she just wanted to be held by strong, comforting arms, brown like the endless expenses of the desert. She just wanted Nailah.

‘’Give me some more memories, your majesty. Indulge me for a little while.’’ she whispered, savouring the feeling of her queen’s smooth skin. 

A small smile formed on the Hatarian’s lips, wrapping a lock of the raven’s jet, black, hair around her finger. ‘’...Yeah. Yeah, I can do that.’’

Thus, as the stars shone brightly above them, the two woman made memories one more time, the wind sheltering them in its embrace. They reminisced about the journeys they had, whether it be extravagant dances in the air while the sunset washed over them, or a quiet night in the castle town, enjoying a cup of tea underneath the moonlight. They shared secrets with each other, quirks from their past or fun little tidbits of their personality, quickly followed by teasing jeers. Vika relished in it all, her heart blooming with bliss as she spent time with the woman who made her life worth living. Seeing the crease of her cheeks as she smiled, the jingle in the air as she laughed. It sparked her senses to life. 

‘So this is what it feels like to be love. Heh, I wish I had recognized it earlier.’

As Vika swooned in the queen’s arms, the two talking the night away, conversation once again drifted back to Nailah’s stories of Hatari. The raven’s eyes lit up with that familiar curiosity as the wolf queen began to recount stories of her experiences as the Lodestar and her dealings with the other rulers of Hatari.

‘’So we were in the middle of some stupid meeting amongst the leaders discussing some odd reports about zombies or something. Then, all of a sudden, right in the goddamn middle of Treshunara’s speech, a loud, lusty, moan blasts through the room, so exotic that the ice dragon envoy almost fainted.’’

The story was momentarily paused by its teller’s sudden laughter, hugging her bare stomach in hilarity The raven grinned through her blush, amused by her friend’s childish sense of humour as the two leaned back on each other beneath the shade of the oak, hands still intwined.

‘’Room was dead silent after that. Treshy still had his mouth open, frozen mid-speech, while dad looked like he was gonna have a heart attack. Everyone in the room was giving each other nervous looks while fidgeting like twigs in the wind. Of course, I was the only one who knew what was going on. My nose can pick out the scent of a flower in a perfume shop.’’

‘’Y-You could smell the scent of...’’ 

‘’Yep. In all this raunchy glory.’’ the wolf sighed, a light tinge of red on her face. ‘’They were in the supply closet of the meeting room, smelling like bitches in heat. Even if they had decided to stop their bustling, the smell didn’t leave much to the imagination.’’ she miffed, twitching her nose.

‘’But here’s the kicker. Before I could even say a word, Henu, the ox queen, comes barging into the room, late as always and piss drunk. The dumb cow then starts looking for a chair in her haste and, honest to Naga, she rips the door to the closet straight off its hinges.’’ 

Vika braced herself as a perverted grin seeped into the wolf’s face. ‘’Huddled together in a pile of torn off clothes and shame, was the vulture queen and owl king, looking like deers in torchlight. Pft, oh man, it was the craziest thing that ever happened in that stuffy room. All the manaketes and oldies shot straight out of their rockers. Me and Henu just about wet ourselves laughing while those two feathered exhibitioners burned a hole through the ground. Ha, meetings were always awkward after that.’’

The raven’s hair frizzled and mouth stammered as Nailah finished her saucy tale, the Hatarian looking oddly proud of herself. ‘’W-What the hell was that! All of the things you could tell me about in Hatari, you tell me about two people getting it on?!’’ she shrieked, feeling strangely uncomfortable.

‘’My, my, why so angry, bird?’’ the wolf teased, a frustratingly sly flair to her expression. ‘’Is it the story you’re flustered about or your...inexperience.’’

Vika shrunk as the leering wolf loomed sleazily over the raven, her face burning with embarrassment. Vika had never really had to time to deal with such base desires. After being freed, she would sometimes feel a mild physical attraction to some of the men and women in the Emancipation Army, but none which she wished to pursue. Hearing the Hatarian speak so casually about the topic only reminded Vika of her callowness. 

‘’U-U-Uh...Wh-What about you, huh?! A-Are you still a vir...er, u-untouched?’’ Vika fidgeted as she stumbled with her words, though Nailah’s sheepish expression brought an odd sense of worry to the raven’s mind.

‘’Er, well...Y-You see how women get around me...plus I am the queen, so...’’

A scowl slowly trickled onto Vika’s face as jealousy began to rear it’s ugly head. The way Nailah was timidly scrunching up, made her all the angrier. ‘’O-Out with it then, y-you perv!’’

The wolf was sweating small oceans as she was harshly scrutinized under Vika’s stare. ‘’Heheh...I, well...’’ She had enough, bolting up in a red heat. ‘’Aww, come on, bird! You can’t expect me to control myself when those cute wolf girls are practically throwing themselves at me when I go home! Man, their tails were so soft...’’

‘’Wha...I-I d-don’t need to-’’

She didn’t stop. ‘’And the ox queen! Naga alive, her knockers are huge! Bastard always teased me with them when we were young! A girl can’t resist it forever!’’

‘’Eeeep! Shut u-up-’’

‘’I remember this one time where we were both in heat and she started using her horns to-’’

‘’STOP!’’

In a steaming fit of discomfort, the raven fiercely slapped the wolf across the face, sending her sliding across the meadow grass as Vika tried to catch her ragged breath, a red-hot blush covering her entire body. Hearing her crush talk about her sexual exploits with other women was not suited for a memory under a moonlit sky. 

Nailah, head spinning before realizing what she just said, hastily crawled back to the woman like a child to her mother. ‘’Shit, s-sorry about that, Vika! I-It was just a little bit of teenage hormones! I ain’t like that with her!’’

The raven simply gave an annoyed huff in response, irate and cold as she shifted her face away from the libidinous queen. Nailah winced, feeling somewhat hurt, before wrapping an apologetic arm around the woman, eyes pleading for forgiveness.

‘’Come on, Vika, I’m sorry, honest! I didn’t have any real feelings for any of them, a-and if it makes you feel better, you’re ten times prettier than any woman I was with.’’ she chimed, charming sincerity in her voice.

Vika felt the temperature of her body rise further, stiffening at the praise. ‘’...I-It doesn’t...’’ she lied, yet the happy fluttering in her chest proved otherwise. 

Nailah knowingly smiled at her antics, before softly leaning into the raven’s being, almost purring as her cheek relished and explored the surface of Vika’s smooth, white, skin. At first, Vika tried to shy away from the insistent embrace, still mad at the thoughtless woman. Yet, Vika was never one to be able to resist the magic of the Hatarian and eventually succumbed to her comfort, lightly leaning into her touch as she cursed the goosebumps that sprung as a result.

‘’This...this doesn’t mean I’ve forgiven you.’’

‘’Mm, I ‘hate’ you too, Vika.’’

She couldn’t help but to give a shameless snicker at the joke before cloaking the queen’s body in a feathery wing. The evening breeze felt so good on her skin as the two huddled together under the sky’s glittering, indigo canvas, as they had done on so many nights earlier. As the clouds drifted by, Vika took a moment to lose herself in the sensations. Grass daintily tickling her legs. The scent of charcoal and incense, drifting in from the festival. Crickets and fireflies singing their nightly ensemble. A pair of hands thoroughly caressing her breasts. The slight sting of moonlight as it shone into her eyes.

‘...Wait. One of those didn’t belong.’

Looking down, Vika eyes widened at the sight of ten, brown, digits, curiously exploring the surface of her bosom while their owner judged the two mounds like a farmer at a fruit. She couldn’t find any words.

‘’Hey now, you’re no slouch either! And so soft, too....’’ Nailah commended, a childlike awe to her voice. ‘’Oh! You don’t wear a bra!’’

The two shared a brief moment of silence together afterwards, a hardened, unreadable expression on Vika’s face as Nailah continued the assault with no signs of stopping. One could even hear the rustling of fabric and jiggling of fat against the chirping of the meadow. 

‘’...CAWCAW!’’ 

Finally finding her resolve, Vika snapped in a blur of shame and embarrassment before suddenly shifting with a shriek on the wind. Nailah, finding her squishy playthings replace with flared feathers, didn’t even get a chance to retract her hands before being venomously pecked by the raven’s resentful and hard beak. 

‘’Ah! Pft, ouch! Heh, I supposed I should have, ow, seen that coming!’’ Nailah proceeded to give a charged smile, even through the winces. ‘’Well, I can bite too, bird!’’

Accompanied by howl, Nailah, too, shifted, another flash of light cutting through the once peaceful meadow. As the glow died down, the raven swiftly felt furry, tough, muscles where the brown flesh once stood, and one very eager looking wolf grinning through Vika’s now ineffective attacks. Said grin happened to show off two rows of sharp, glistening, teeth, teeth that had sent many a foe to the embrace of the goddess.

Peck, peck...squawk.

The little bird braced herself as that killing maw slowly inched itself towards her feathers. 

‘This isn’t how I pictured Nailah eating me out.’

Perverse illusions aside, Vika felt not the stinging of teeth around her frame, but a sudden tongue fling its way out of the mouth and sloppily trace a long, wet, line right up the middle of the raven’s body. 

Nailah snickered as the raven achieved a moment of stillness in the air, sticky with her drool and beady eyes spinning dizzily, before she puffed her snout up to Vika and bolted away, a familiar guffawing rebounding through the night valley. 

‘’Kerrk! All this time, and I still like that look the most, Vika!’’

Dazed and wet, Vika simply sat slumped on the ground as she watched the wolf present a frivolous, wagging, rump to her direction. She could hear distant, taunting, howls and japes at her dignity.

‘’...ha, ha...HAHAHA, THE TIME TO GET DROPPED IS TODAY, MUTT! CACAAAAAW!’’

In a stream of ebony downs, Vika took a deep breath of air before leaping up and soaring madly towards the wolf, murder written in her little eyes. Nailah yelped in thrill and astonishment as she saw the speeding arrow make a beeline for her behind, before turning tail and running, gruff voice rumbling with mirth.

‘’Wind must feel nice with my charming wolf slobber sticking to you, doesn’t it, bird?’’ the wolf chuckled through her pants, grass ripely crunching beneath her paws.

‘’I am gonna take you to the biggest cliff, tree, or freaking anything and enjoy seeing your snot-dripping face again as you fall, Nailah!’’

The valley was lit up with the two laguz’s gleeful laughter and unsportsmanlike taunts. They raced over hills, through ponds, even off small hills as Vika chased down the mocking queen. She had never felt so full of life. Delicious adrenaline coursed through her excited veins, making her blood thrash powerfully against her skin. It all felt surreal. The evening breeze through her wings, the sweet, yet gruff, sound of Nailah’s voice, the light of the full moon above her head as it bathed both the valley and the two in a tranquil, pale, glow. She wanted to stay in this snapshot of bliss for eternity, racing through a timeless meadow with her love as the rest of the world drifted by. Goddess, that was the only world she needed.

‘...heh, I’m always chasing you, aren’t I. Now and forever...’

Vika rustled her wings before letting the th ought pass from her mind. It would be a cold day in the Grann before she allowed something to dampen her mood when she was having so much fun. The raven grinned as she saw Nailah lose a moment’s footing as she tripped on a sneaky branch, hidden in the tall grass of the plain they had found themselves in. That moment was all she needed. 

Speeding up, the raven quickly shot down and reverted right above the wolf, eyes twinkling and arms menacingly extended as threatened to rip the woman away from the safety of the ground. 

‘Just a little more and...huh?’

To her surprise, Nailah had foreseen her presence, suddenly reverting herself and beginning to flip the fabric above her right eye, grinning. 

Vika shivered as she began to feel her body hardening up in anticipation of the evil eye’s reveal. Forcing her eyes close, the cool expense of the open air was soon replaced by warm, hard, muscle as she unwillingly collided with Nailah in the attempt to avoid the gaze. The wolf queen winced at the abrupt contact, losing her own footing and joining her attacker in a rough tumble to the ground. Mangled plants and feathers littered the sky as the two laguz flopped through the grassy meadow, limbs intertwined. 

‘’Ouf!’’

Their roll finally came to an end, hot pants fogging the vicinity and flustered skin beating against flustered skin. As her eyes slowly fluttered open, Vika found herself face to face with Nailah. She gasped at the position that the two had found themselves in. Surrounded by tall strands of flowing grass, Vika now sat directly on top of the winded Hatarian, her rump situated just south of Nailah’s belly and legs straddled on opposite sides of the queen’s own legs. Looking down, she saw Nailah peak her good eye open before slightly blushing at the close proximity, noticing the raven’s hands laying just above her shoulders. 

Her blush stayed as the wolf adopted a perky smile. ‘’Yeesh. You just can’t keep your hands off me, can ya, bird?’’ Nailah’s tail swatted Vika’s back playfully, earning a little squeak.

It started as a little giggle, likely from the tail tickling her sensitive sides, but soon erupted into full blown, jubilant laughter, Vika retracting her hands to clutch her strained stomach. Nailah was easily swept up in her friend’s mirth as the two filled the meadow with the happy voices.

_Boom_

Their laughter was loudly interrupted by a rather distant roar, followed by vibrant burst of light which blanketed the two in dull shade of orange. 

_Boom, Boom, crackle, Boom_

Another loud blast, then another, and another, each producing a different shade of colour. Their eyes finally wandered over to the direction of the sounds, slightly recoiling as a sudden burst of blue erupted just as they turned. Vika’s eyes glittered with awe as her eyes fell upon the source of the light. There, in the sky just above the village, were dozens of sparkling, dazzling, flowers of light, each bursting and blooming with the radiance of a thousand stars. Fireworks. They showered an entire section of a sky with colours as vibrant as a rainbow, fire as bright as the sun. Each time a flower dimmed away, another one took its place, giving off a performance of light that rivalled the goddess’s dawn that joined in a chorus of brilliance. It made Vika shudder with amazement. The ballad of fire and colour was simply divine as the sky lit up the indigo canvas in tribute to the Gallians’ indomitable will. She could even hear excited chants coming from the festival on the wind.

A particularly blinding flash of pink caused the raven to wince away, curling her head inwards. As the sting of her retinas faded, her eyelids slowly unlocked as smooth expenses of brown and purple began to fill her vision. Nailah, the wolf’s eyes better acclimatized than Vika’s, was dreamily absorbing the spectacle of light before her, with a smile serene and eyes glossy with wonder. 

‘’Wow...you guys have spark flowers too?’’ she quietly breathed, words sliding off her tongue like silk. ‘’Gorgeous no matter what sky they’re under, huh?...’’

Yet, Vika didn’t register the words. Her senses were too focused on the soft, radiant features of the woman beneath her, ears too focused on the enthralling sound of the wolf queen’s breath as it cascaded off past her lips, dimly fogging up the air with a smokey white. The sight of her peaceful queen bathed in the light of a thousand shades of light surged a grand canopy of emotions from deep inside her soul. It made her eyes shimmer with water, nose tingle with delight, heart pound with longing. The inviting, brown expense of Nailah’s glowing face attracted the raven like a moth to a flame and Vika was helpless to the desires of her heart. 

She could cry at how beautiful her love looked as the light of the fireworks and moon above danced across her skin in a ethereal waltz. Her breath weakly shivered out as her mind blossomed in wistful fantasies together. Vika wanted to feel her, to be with her so bad, it hurt. Her blood and feelings could be held back no longer and pulsated through her veins with a purpose, desperate for release.

‘...I want you, Nailah. Keep your promise...’ 

So this was it. This was where she finally lost herself.

_Boom. A flash of green._

Vika’s shoulders lose almost all control as they slump down, face gently falling down.

_Boom. A flash of orange._

An amber light glistened like fire across Nailah’s features, reminding Vika of the times where flames and sunsets had done the same.

_Boom. A flash of red._

Vika could now smell the overwhelming desert scent of Nailah’s body, filling up every inch of the raven’s mind as it wafted nostalgically.

_Boom. A flash of purple._

Goddess, the light complemented the wolf’s hair so well. Like a heartfelt reunion between two brothers. Nailah had turned her head back towards the raven, showing a mild surprise at the sudden proximity of the woman.

_Boom. A flash of gold._

Nailah’s eyes began to widen she sees the tenderness in the raven’s eyes. Vika pays it no mind as she inches even closer.

_Boom. A flash of blue._

Vika was so close now that she could feel the heat radiating from Nailah’s cheeks. She sees the Hatarian shakily open her lips a fraction, as if unconsciously inviting her attacker. It fires the raven up even more as her eyes drift close.

_Boom. That colour is lost to her._

The warmth from Nailah’s mouth rises up to meet her own pants as their lips hover in front of each other. Their breaths mingled with together in the air before leaking into the other’s mouth. Vika gave a lustful squeak as she tasted the spice and musk of Nailah’s breath. They were a string’s width apart now.

_Boom. Boom. Boom._

_Crackle,_

_crackle,_

_crackle..._

 

In that moment, they met, they finally met. It was a light and chaste meeting, akin to dabbing a napkin to your mouth after a meal, yet to Vika, it felt like Ashera had showered her lips in a bliss unimaginably. She relished in the texture of Nailah’s, wet, cracked lips on her own soft ones. Her heart threatened to burst out of her chest as small streams of the Hatarian’s saliva broke into her mouth. Her mind became clouded in an ecstatic haze as Nailah’s lips moved up to keep in contact with Vika’s own whenever the raven bobbled her head, the wolf mewing almost shyly as sought the forbidden embrace that both had dreamed of for so long. 

With great displeasure, Vika was forced to stop the kiss when her lungs begged for air. With a loud and breathy gasp, the two separated their lips, desperately gasping for air. The raven inwardly smiled at the sight of Nailah innocently trying to regain her composure as she squirmed on top of the grass, eye clouded with release. The meadow was still save flashes of fireworks as the two lay intwined upon each other. 

‘I...I did it, I really did it!’ Vika thought happily, eyes never leaving the wolf’s recovering form. ‘I’m so...so...’

_Flash_

Vika’s veins filled with ice. Her elation was deflated instantly as Nailah’s eye looked up to meet her, a familiar and haunting look staring back. It was that look again. She made Nailah put that terrible face on again. 

_Helplessness, Uncertainty. Fear._

Goddess, what had she done. Panic ripped through her body as she realized that she had given into her selfish desires. She had been down this road too many times. She put her heart into the woman, made Nailah a part of her life, just as important as the rising of the sun. Yet, after her pathetic little fantasy, the woman would eventually leave her, leaving a gaping, bleeding hole in the middle of her heart. A hole that could only be filled with hatred. 

‘Goddess, goddess, no! Why did I do that?! This can’t be happening! If she ends up hating me...if I end up hating her...no, please don’t make me. Not her...no, no, no!’

Her breathing lurched uncontrollably as her blood felt like it was going to burn through her skin. She didn’t even catch Nailah’s uncertainty be replaced with worry, before throttling up with her head in her hands and desperately leaping away from the woman who she had tainted. 

She didn’t register Nailah’s frantic yelling nor the bloody cuts on her feet as she stepped on sharp rocks. All she had on her mind right now was getting as far away from Nailah as possible, the usage of her wings forgotten in her panic. Her heart was in her throat.

‘No, no, no. Don’t hate me, don’t hate me, don’t make me hate you...I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, Nailah!’

‘’Vika!’’

The raven barely reached a stone’s throw away before she felt a pair of strong arms envelope and tackle her body to the ground. This time, it was her body being pinned to the cool, meadow, turf. Through her tears, she could make out a single, green, eye staring back at her, laced with concern. 

‘’Hah...hah...Vika! Why did you...’’ The Hatarian’s pursed her lips in for a moment before bringing a hand to their surface, cheeks red and eye contemplative. ‘’...Why...why are you running?’’ 

The raven’s face scrunched up with paralyzing fear and regret. Nailah looked so uncertain, so confused. And Vika was to blame. She was the one to make her beautiful sun dimmer with regrets and pale with weakness. It would inevitably come the time where that sun would finally be put out and leave her in a damning darkness, eyes thirsty for one more glance of the fire she had been so desperate for.

‘The sweeter the wine, the more bitter the aftertaste, isn’t it, my goddess.’

The raven thrashed in despair beneath the wolf, desperate to place as much distance between her love and her own raging heart as possible. Yet, she failed to escape the Hatarian’s heated hold, merely squirming about like a fish out of water as her body was pinned beneath Nailah’s thighs and arms beneath Nailah’s hands. Her helplessness only served to return the tears to her eyes, the Hatarian yelping with worry at the sight as fireworks continued to pop and shower behind them. 

‘’Stop it, Nailah. Just let me go, damn it.’’ the raven whimpered, trying to hide her shame with her hair. ‘’We...We should stop talking to each other from now on. Thanks...sniff...ah, thank you for all you’ve done, your majesty.’’

The wolf queen gasped as if she had just been slapped in the face, punched in the gut. Vika fiercely tried to hold in her sobs as she saw the woman, gorgeous, green eye, glisten with hurt and sorrow.

‘I’m only causing you more pain, my love. I don’t deserve you...I didn’t deserve a moment of your beautiful, stunning, amazing kindness, Nailah...’

‘’You...Y-You’re joking, right, bird?’’ Nailah shakily said. She almost wanted to laugh at the pure insanity of the moment. ‘’W-We...We...We’re supposed to be together forever, Vika.’’ 

The raven winced in both pain and anguish as Nailah’s nails dug deeply into her forearms, as if digging for answers. ‘’We’re friends, a-aren’t we? I-I promised I would always be-’’

‘’STOP IT, NAILAH! JUST STOP!’’ Vika snapped as her voice bellowed in agony, heart unable to stand the torment for much longer. ‘’Stop this, Nailah! You know what I did back there, how disgusting and selfish I am! Please, you’re better off without me.’’

Nailah’s face heated as she recalled Vika’s surprising advance moments earlier, yet the worry refused to fade. ‘’I-I...I don’t...’’ The wolf queen’s words felt weaker than ever before. He usually indomitable will had failed her, making her feel like she was a newborn pup again. She actually felt like crying.

‘’V-Vika, please! I don’t even care about w-what you did! Why are you-’’

‘’I SAID STOP!’’ 

The meadow air trembled in wake of the raven’s screeching outburst. Nailah retreated her hands and body in shock, yet Vika made no move to escape, despite the freeing of her bonds. She feebly lay there among the wafting blades of grass, her weak, pale, skin slowly lit by the light of the moon and fireworks as her face quivered and voice cracked.

‘’Please, stop pitying me, Nailah.’’ she whimpered through gritted teeth. ‘’I saw the fear and hesitation in your eyes, don’t try to sugarcoat it. I’m only holding you back.’’

The wolf’s eye glimmered as she felt the raven’s smooth hand slowly raise and place itself on her cheeks, trembling fingers painstakingly relishing the contact and texture of her skin, as if feeling them one last time. Vika’s eyes shined with a dull, bittersweet glow as they met with Nailah’s own, the raven’s mouth weakly forming into a pained smile. 

‘’Every moment I’m with you, every heartbeat that you’re responsible for, it makes me want to stay by your side all the more. I know it hurts you every time you have to dote on me, and it will hurt me when you finally have to go. I won’t have you giving me any special treatment, my love.’’ Nailah gave an arresting gasp at the mention of those words, which Vika giggled quietly at. ‘’I love you more than I know how to put into words, but I couldn’t bare it if you lost so much just for me. Your happiness means so much more than my suffering, Nailah.’’

The raven then placed a familiar, chaste kiss upon the unresponsive woman’s forehead. The wolf’s musky skin felt so nice against her soft lips, so much that Vika cursed herself at letting the contact last as long as it did. With her heart heavy, Vika lifted the rather limp Hatarian off her lap and sombrely got up. She offered one last smile to the woman. ‘’Hehe, you know, I think you may be the first person who left me that I won’t hate. Thank you, for everything.’’

Vika took half a second to stare at the most important person in her life, her normally radiant, green eye dim underneath the unreadable cover of purple locks, before reluctantly turning her head around and forcing her legs to move, her great disagreement with the act hidden behind a false smile. Every step echoed accusingly against her head. Her feet felt like they were filled lead as they crushed the meadow grass beneath her feet. 

‘I don’t want this, I don’t want this, I want Nailah. I want to touch her now.’ the voice in her heart screeched, physically tearing and trashing against her chest. Yet, Vika painstakingly walked on regardless, biting down the mutinous aching of her emotions. 

This was for the best. Even if she would never see Nailah again, she had to soldier on. Even if she would never hear that lively, tingling laughter, never smell that wild, desert scent on Nailah’s clothes, never feel Nailah’s teasing, calloused finger glide playfully off her wanting, virgin lips...

The raven suppressed a lamenting whimper. 

‘No...I can’t be weak, s-soldier on...ah, damn it you pathetic bird. This is for your love’s sake. I’m stronger than this, I-...h-huh?’

Vika’s blood froze in her veins as she noticed her feet fail to move. As her blood resumed pumping through limbs, she realized that it was not her feet that had stopped walking, but a hand that was holding her back. Goosebumps crawled across her entire body as the rough surface of the not-so-mysterious hand tightly grip and squeeze her wrist.

‘S-Stop making this so hard, you stupid, sexy, caring, arse...’

With great willpower and even greater regret, Vika swiftly turned around to face her captor, traces of her emotions breaking out of the facade. 

‘’S-Stop this, your majesty. I’ve made my-’’

_Slap_

With a mighty, passionate, smack, the wolf queen loudly struck the raven right across the cheek, sending her collapsing to the ground. Vika didn’t even register the pain through her sheer shock, kneeling numbly on the soft grass. Something tingled where the woman had slapped her, but it wasn’t pain. It almost felt good, refreshing. Her trembling hand slowly caressed the big, red, mark, almost savouring the burning of the wound against the cool, meadow, wind. Vika felt rough hands upon her once again, as Nailah’s arms tensely latched onto her shoulders. The raven’s trembling eyes tried to read the woman’s strained face, green eye hidden behind curtains of violet.

‘’Who...’’

The word was almost lost to Vika’s ears. She tried to say something in response, yet no letters formed on her tongue, simply a dry, whisper that paled in volume against even the night breeze. Yet, Vika soon found her voice as she caught sight of Nailah’s eye. It sparkled against the fireworks as splashes of moisture dampened its surface. Emerald twinkled against whites, blues, and every other colour imaginable as sharp teeth grit against each other in the wolf’s mouth. She had made Nailah cry again.

‘’I, I-I-I-’’

‘’Shut it, Vika!’’ the Hatarian cried heatedly, startling the raven as her love angrily shoved her face up to hers. Vika could smell the musk on Nailah’s breath. She had never seen the woman so passionate, eye fierce against the barrage of fireworks. ‘’All this time you’ve been spouting your bullcrap and haven’t let me get a single thing in, damn it! Who said that I hated you kissing me, huh?!’’

Vika could have sworn her heart stopped. She tried to stop the flood of hope that threatened to drown her, but ultimately failed as a cascading warmth filled her entire body. Even as Nailah continued to scream at her, the feeling still poured through her bones and flushed her cheeks.

‘’Maybe I do like you, maybe I love you! Maybe some stupid, sexy raven made me feel things I had never felt before in my life, Vika! Maybe I’m fucking scared of those feelings too!’’

This wasn’t good. Vika couldn’t stop her shaking and the warmth had spread to every corner of her body. 

‘Did...Did Nailah just imply that she loved me?’ She didn’t know if she should be ecstatic or terrified. 

‘’Maybe when the person who I have these feeling for, kisses me under a spark flower-lit, night sky, I start getting flustered and uncertain! Is that so unbelievable to you, Vika?! Didn’t I tell you, that I can get nervous sometimes too...’’

One of the Hatarian’s hands left Vika shoulders and placed it upon her brown chest, as if trying to calm her heartbeat. Nailah panted almost pitifully as tears streamed down her face. Vika gawked, stunned as she tried to calm her own heart.

‘’Nai-...Nailah?’’ she croaked, her voice hoarse and vulnerable in wake of her love’s confession. 

Nailah simply squirmed along the blades of grass, eyes still dripping with uncertainty. Her hand clutched her breast for a moment longer before returning to its former place on Vika’s shoulder, both arms slowly sinking down the length of the raven’s arm as Nailah’s face quivered under the glow of moonlight. 

‘’You...You make me feel weird, Vika.’’ the Hatarian said, almost lamely. She fidgeted like a schoolgirl as she seemingly tried to put her flighty emotions into words. This clearly was a subject the proud wolf queen wasn’t used to discussing. ‘’I’ve been with plenty of women, but I’ve even come close to feeling the shit that I feel with you, damn it.’’ Nailah squirmed even more. ‘’The fun I have when we talk, the tingle in my heart when I see you flustered or happy, the crazy warmth that hits me like a bull when I hold you in bed. Sometimes I think it’s that thing I hear people talk about, what those naive, young women, and aged, old couples alike, fawn so strongly over. Maybe it’s...that thing called... true love?’’

Vika couldn’t breath. Every rational thought in her mind screamed at her to ran away now. Yet, her heart begged and throbbed and absolutely refused to move her body a single inch and Vika was obliged to listen. This was what she wanted, what she longed every waking minute for. Nailah had felt the same way she had, harboured the same confusing feelings that had once made her feel alienated from the woman. Yet, at the same time, her happiness was also overshadowed by a great fear. These thoughts and feelings would only serve to make their parting even more painful and serve at make Nailah’s resolve to leave much more difficult. 

She really wanted to be with Nailah, oh goddess, she wanted to, but she would sooner die than to hold the amazing woman back. She couldn’t do this. She had to put a stop to this, her heart would just have to break alone. Vika had to tell Nailah to stop...stop...

‘...oh...’

Her resolve began to slip like sand as her eyes noticed the complete adoration in Nailah’s features. Her mouth was parted just slightly, as if inviting the raven in. A single, green, eye glistened with faint remnants of passion as it stared right into Vika’s very soul, quivering with impulse and desire. The glow of the lights lit up the woman’s tanned face with a myriad of colours that reflected a different emotion for each shade that bounced off the Hatarian’s shining skin. Vika’s legs felt like jelly.

‘’Vika...’’ the wolf so alluringly breathed, voice husky with both desire and meekness. Vika was being tore apart. One half of her body was trying to pull her away, terrified by the prospect of hurt, while the other half planted her thighs firm on the ground and lurched her torso towards the Hatarian, senses vibrant with yearning for her beloved. It seemed that the latter half was winning, given the slow drift Vika was making towards the woman’s lips. She was losing it.

Vika saw that look again. Not the confused one, but a much more pleasant look. It shined with the same longing and passion she had first seen when the raven had given her the pendant. It reminded Vika of moonlit meadows, colourful festivals, dancing bonfires, peaceful embraces, and so much more. The memories reflected through the Hatarian’s single, emerald eye stole her away from the waking world, breathing a nostalgic, shivering wave of comfort along the walls of her body. All those wonderful days, all those beautiful nights, Vika remembered every second of her time with Nailah. 

‘Oh goddess, I don’t want to give that up, Nailah.’ her eyes pleaded, visibly shaking in the wolf’s arms. ‘B-But I can’t...I-!’

The raven’s breath hitched as she suddenly felt Nailah sag down to the ground, taking Vika with her. The Hatarian winced as she kneeled down in the dirt, legs seemingly giving out on her. A thin streak of blood was even visible across her creamy brown thighs, cut by a wayward stone. 

Vika’s mouth opened instinctually in an effort to raise attention to the wound, yet abruptly found a couple of rough fingers creak her jaw slowly shut, stopping just shy of closing them. Trembling eyes never leaving from Nailah’s own, Vika shuddered as she felt a thumb succulently trace itself over every inch of the raven’s lips, adventurous enough to even dip inside and wrap strings of hot saliva around Nailah’s fingertips. Said tips eventually stopped their assault on the stunned raven’s mouth, tipping Vika’s chin up to meet the radiant, wolf queen’s eye, the wet streaks of saliva on Vika’s skin amplifying the coolness of night. Staring back at her was that single, shining, orb that had dominated everyone of Vika’s dreams, glistening with an indescribable passion. 

‘’Vika...I...’’

Her defences were being torn down like paper. The pure emotion laden in Nailah’s words was drawing her back in, gravitating her back towards her beloved. It was like falling in love all over again. She felt Nailah’s sweet breath dance hotly on her skin again as the woman fervidly started talking, as if she was voicing her very soul within her words.

‘’...Ever since we met, I knew you were special, Vika.’’

Vika’s mind flashed.

_''Hahaha, I think I like that look the most, bird!''_

‘’I liked sharing my stories with you, enjoyed seeing you smile.’’

_''I am your friend Vika, and on my honour as queen of Hatari, I won't let anything happen to you.''_

‘’I loved seeing your lively, beautiful, free side,’’

_''My, my, my. Now that was pretty smooth bird. I'm swooning.''_

‘’...as well as your sensitive sides.’’

_‘’Cherish those moments, Vika, and when you look back at those stars under a new sky, remember each happy encounter fondly.’’_

‘’Somewhere along the way, I realized your happiness was my happiness,’’

_Their lone laughs brought life to the dark, empty streets as they teased each other back to their huts._

‘’...that your soul filled up the cracks in mine.’’

_‘’...But I matter to you, Vika, and that is enough.’’_

‘’When I come to grips with these feelings, I was shocked,’’

_‘’Y-You look good! O-Oh but I-I already said that, d-didn’t I, ha,heh...’’_

‘’...and afraid.’’

_Nailah’s thirsty lips never met hers, instead pausing just shy of Vika’s wishes before climbing up and kissing the raven’s forehead chastely with a defeated sigh._

A crease ran over the Hatarian’s forehead for a moment, as if resolving some past dilemma, but quickly faded with the flashing of the fireworks as her eye took on a resolved, yet serene expression. ‘’...But right now, I don’t think I can resist the warmth inside my heart anymore...my precious, little, bird.’’ 

Vika silently swooned as Nailah began to close the last couple of inches between them. Her soul was on fire. She was so close, so close to losing it. She tried her best to abstain, yet Nailah’s allure was too overpowering, too enticing...

‘’Vika...all those false advances I made in the past, I’m making up for it now...’’ 

The raven whimpered.

‘’Vika...’’

The heat on Nailah’s breath took over every bit of skin on her face at this point, her tense body crazed with indecision. 

‘Damn it... just...just leave now, Nailah...’

‘’I’ve always...’’

‘I won’t be able to...’ She was half a step off the cliff. Her heart was breaking. ‘I...damn it, I can’t let this happen!’

‘’I lov-’’

‘’STOP!’’

A one, desperate act that shattered her heart to make, Vika lurched both hands clasp over Nailah’s mouth, fingers trembling in their hold as bitter tears trickled out of her eyes.

‘’DON’T SAY IT!’’ Vika insanely begged, the Hatarian staring surprised at the blatant interruption of her confession. The raven’s body sagged gracelessly as her face was stained with moonlight and tears. ‘’If you say it, I won’t be able to leave, damn it...’’

Vika put up the faintest resistance as the wolf queen’s hands slowly reached up to remove the soft obstructions on her mouth. A concern frown was engraved on her lips, directed the snivelling shadow of the quirky woman she had learned to love. ‘’Vika, why can’t you-’’

‘’No! Stop being so kind, Nailah! I can’t...’’ Her voice was hoarse with despair as it echoed against the pounding of the fireworks, the pounding of her heart. ‘’You can’t abandon your queenship just for some pathetic thing like me, Nailah...’’ Her words sounded so hollow, so weak. ‘’I don’t want to hold you back, I’d rather die!’’

Vika brushed off the appalled look the wolf gave at the idea, shrugging away a hand through her tear-stained vision. She was hopelessly clinging onto Nailah’s chest at this point, her words conflicting with her actions as she damped Nailah’s clothes. ‘’B-But, if you keep acting so nice, keep looking at me with those big, stupid, beautiful eyes, I-I’m gonna lose it, Nailah! I won’t be able to stay away when you leave, I’ll cry myself insane every moment I’m not with you, I’ll hate you with all my heart, Nailah!’’

She clutched her bleeding heart. ‘’Don’t make me go through that, my love. Don’t make yourself go through that, please...sniff...I just some weak, needy, selfish nobod-!’’

In one swift and sudden move, Vika’s entire body was thrown upwards by rough, strong hands. Through her tears she was able to see half a second’s glimpse of Nailah’s intensely resolute face before the sight was swept away with a sea of delicious lavender and a feeling of bliss. Nailah had kissed her. 

She tried to overcome the elation and break it off, but her body was jelly in the hands and lips of the desert beauty. Hungry hands which had just moments earlier been so rough, now took on an unnaturally soft role while they lovingly caressed every inch her sensitive, white, skin. A muffled squeak was smothered in her throat as her mouth was abruptly invaded by the Hatarian’s warm tongue. Vika’s heart smashed against her chest in response to the wet appendage as it gently, yet impulsively, explored the insides of the raven’s mouth, occasionally intwining with Vika’s own tongue in a needy and hot dance of lust. Her cheeks blushed like never before as she unconsciously savoured the euphoric taste Nailah’s sweet saliva, guilty moans of pleasures echoing in Nailah’s mouth.

In a burst of hot air, the two finished their intimacy with a sloppy popping of their mouths apart, strands of spit dangling between the two as they struggled to catch their breath. Nailah lightly smirked at the raven through her gasps, the overwhelmed bird limply cradled on the grass in a warm haze. Wiping the drool off her chin, Nailah hoisted the tired woman into her arms, uncertain eyes wordlessly searching for an answer to the kiss.

‘’I know you’re selfish, Vika.’’ the Hatarian wistfully chuckled, prompting a guilty wince from the raven. Said wince quickly faded as Nailah softly laid a velvety hand on her cheeks. ‘’So, allow me to be selfish too.’’

Eye not leaving her, Vika watched Nailah dip her hand into the confines of her dress, quickly pulling out something from the cloth, something shiny. At the instant Vika’s eyes made contact with the object, the entire world around her become perfectly still. She couldn’t even manage a breath.

‘’I’ve had this damn thing ever since I bought you that necklace, but I was too much of a wuss to give it to you.’’ the Hatarian grinned, sheepishly rubbing her head. Vika barely noticed, eyes still glued on the object, as if verifying its authenticity. Nailah’s eye then took on a caring, serene expression, hands playfully tilting the still flabbergasted raven towards her. ‘’Trust me when I say that you mean the entire world to me, Vika. You’re the last thing I want to see going to sleep and the first thing I want to see waking up. Parting with you would hurt me just as much as it would hurt you. That’s why I want you to come back to Hatari with me...as my bride.’’

Vika’s soul was blazing. Her heart was in her throat and her blood threatened to explode out of her veins. She almost wished that Nailah was lying just because of how much it would hurt if it wasn’t true.

‘Oh my goddess...oh goddess...is this really happening...please, let this be real.’

With a charisma unparalleled and a smile both heart-stoppingly nervous and powerfully bold, Nailah got down on one knee as she lovingly slid the silver ring onto Vika’s shivering finger, her own digits slightly trembling.

‘’I love you, Vika. When I told you I would never leave you behind, I meant it. Now, would you make me the happiest woman, Lodestar, or any other damn thing under the sun...and marry me?’’

Under the light of bursting fireworks and dazzling moonlight, Vika sat frozen, more shocked than she had been in her entire life. Nailah simply kneeled patiently, hands still clasped around Vika’s, as the raven mentally and physically fumbled. She couldn’t believe her ears. Never in a million years would she had predicted this development. 

‘She...Nailah...goddess, she wants to m-marry...me? As in...live together?’

The angst that polluted her body just moments earlier, the incredible weight on her shoulders, it all seemed to have vanished in those few seconds and words. If she was to go with Nailah, then she could still rule her country. She wouldn’t hold her back, yet at the same time, she would be able to stay with Nailah. 

‘We...We...’

Nailah, rightfully worried at how long Vika was taking with the marriage proposal, fidgeted her hands in an attempt to get a response, sweat dripping from her brow. Happiness blossomed through Vika’s being like the sun across the morning sky. She trembled with glee. This was real. This was really happening.

‘’...we...’’ Vika squeaked, voice quivering with a hundred different emotions. Nailah had anxiously leaned towards her, eye pleading for a replay. ‘’...we can actually be together.’’ 

A soft smile graced Nailah’s features. Her hands gripped tighter on her love’s shaky fingers. ‘’Forever.’’

Vika smiled. A massive, utterly blissful, grin that sung out the pure delight she was feeling. Happy tears trickled down her face, testament of her love to the woman, before tackling the wolf to the ground in a needy kiss. She was drunk with joy, lips almost squeezing the life out of the pleasantly bewildered wolf while her arms thankfully wrapped around her brown shoulders. 

‘I’m so happy, I’m so happy!’ she thought, giddy giggles slipping past her lips, fogging the air. ‘Nailah, thank you so much.’

Finally releasing the Hatarian from her wet prison, Vika parted their mouths with a happy laugh, hands cradling Nailah’s flushed face as she lovingly stared down onto the wolf. ‘’Yes! Yes! Of course I’ll marry you, you stupid mutt!’’ she screeched, forehead lightly leaning against Nailah’s. ‘’I love you so much, Nailah!’’ 

This time, it was Nailah’s turn to leak tears, a goofy smile, every bit as wide of Vika’s, stretching her face. ‘’R-Really? You’d leave Tellius behind to come home with me?’’

‘’You idiot! I told you that you mean more to me than all the stars in the sky! I’d follow you to the ends of the world, spend the rest of my life in a wooden shack! If it means I get to see you everyday when I wake up, I’ll be the happiest girl in the world, Nailah! I love you so much!’’

For a moment, the two simply sat there still in the meadow, still intwined in each others arms and mildly blushing as the embarrassing weight of their words slowly sunk in. Then, in perfect unison, the two newly-weds burst into a fit of jubilant laughter, cheeks flustered together as their happy tears glistened off moonlight. 

‘This is all I could have asked for.’ 

They laughed at the cheesiness of the moment, because of the high they were feeling, and simply laughed for the sake of laughing. As their mirth gradually subdued, the two slowly calmed down onto the cool embrace of the meadow grass, Vika curling up into Nailah’s arms as the two silently watched the last of the fireworks dance in the air, eyes and smiles blissfully content.

‘’...I love you, Nailah.’’ Vika soothed softly, breaking the silence. It incited an expected chuckle from the wolf and a flicker to the ear.

‘’I heard you the first hundred times, bird.’’ she teased, though her heart still quickened all the same.

‘’I know. Just wanted to remind you.’’ Vika breathed, the elation in her heart still lingering. She then raised her hand towards the moonlight, inspecting the wedding ring that she had momentarily forgotten during the shower of kisses. ‘’Hey, what do these words mean, Nailah?’’ Strange symbols, likely ancient language, seemed to be engraved on its surface, enchanted to glow a hot bronze, as if fresh off the forge. 

‘’Oh, it says ‘This hot, raven ass is property of Nailah’. Have to let people know you’re taken somehow, right?’’

Vika gave the wolf a playful pinch on the cheek, holding back her giggling. ‘’Ha-Ha. You’re hilarious, your majesty. Some husband I picked. Now, what does it really say, perv?’’

Puffing out her wounded cheek, Nailah resigned to the plea as she traced her fingers over Vika’s, feeling the tiny crevasses where the print was engraved. ‘’Ikust ot Oyiat. It means ‘sun and moon’.’’

Vika softly gasped as Nailah brought her ringed hand to her mouth, gently kissing it in the glare of moonlight. Her shiny, green, eye then directed itself towards Vika. ‘’Because you are the sun that wakes me up, as well as the moon that drifts me off to sleep.’’ she finished, meadow silent in wake of her words.

‘’...’’

‘’...’’

‘’...Pfffft! Hahaha!’’ 

A scarlet blush flared on the Hatarian’s once brown cheeks as Vika laughed herself to tears. ‘’Ha, a-and you say I’m cheesy! Is this way you never settled down before, Nailah? Scared off all the cute girls with ‘sunshine and moonshine’? Hehehe!’’

The disgraced wolf queen groaned as she attempted to hide her shame with her hands, Vika teasingly elbowing her ribs all the while. ‘’Errrrg, that sounded so much more romantic in my head.’’

Vika grinned the last of her giggles away before grabbing the embarrassed wolf’s head and pulling her into a hot kiss. Even after the barrage lips they shared earlier, Vika’s heart pumped all the same as she tasted the sweet nectar of her lover’s mouth, drunk with love. Finishing the meeting with a pop, the raven took great joy in seeing the blush on Nailah’s face magnify before settling back into her arms. 

‘’I suppose it is the thought that counts, you hopeless charmer.’’ she mused, eyes looking up lovingly at her new husband, wife, whatever. ‘’I love it, Nailah. It really could say that my ‘hot, raven ass’ belongs to you. As long as it still means you married me, I’ll cherish it forever.’’

‘’...’’

‘’...’’

After a short eternity of silence, it was Nailah’s turn to howl with laughter, voice thunderous against the night air. Vika lightly smirked at the booming, somewhat pleased to see the woman return to her usual mirth.

‘’Ahhh, alright, I guess that sounded a lot better in my head too.’’

‘’Hehe, c-careful now, bird!’’ she grinned, wiping tears from her eye. ‘’I really might engrave that on it if you approve!’’

Miffed, Vika bashed her wings against the mocking wolf, Nailah yelping with apology before they once again returned to silence, enjoying the heat and texture of each other’s skin. It was a beautiful feeling.

‘’You’re gonna love Hatari, Vika.’’ Nailah finally spoke, a dreamy glaze to her eye. ‘’I’ll show you in person every sight I’ve told you about. You’ll get served the finest foods, meet all my buddies and the high council. It will be great, I promise.’’

Vika smiled at her lover’s enthusiasm, lightly peaking her on the cheek. ‘’Yeah, I’m really looking forwards to seeing Hatari, though I’m somewhat more interested in life as your wife, Nailah.’’

The Hatarian shyly flinched at the suggestion, eye snapping to attention. ‘’O-Oh...Y-Yeah, t-that part’s pretty awesome too! We can do all the lovely-dovey crap I see the owl king and vulture queen do, maybe go on some royal dates around town. I’ll give you the best of clothes, comfort,’’ Suddenly, that lecherous smile that Vika had come to love-hate resurfaced. ‘’-and all the hot, sweaty, wolf sex a raven could ask for.’’

A red fire sizzled on Vika’s face at the mention of the intimacy, hitting the chortling womanizer in a fit of embarrassment. ‘’N-Nailah! I’m not your wife for an hour and you’re already two feet in the gutter?!’’

‘’Hey, we gotta make an heir to the throne somehow, right?’’ arms raised in an attempt to fend her wife’s attacks. Easily overpowering her, Nailah managed to snag both of the raven’s hands in her own, giving the surprised bird a sly waggle of the eyebrows before stealing a quick kiss. Vika half blushed, half winced at how powerless she was against Nailah’s strength, shying away as the wolf snickered at the raven’s cute plight. 

‘’Oh, but I suppose you already are a parent, bird.’’ Nailah pepped, getting an inquisitive leer from the raven. ‘’Tania’s probably inching to meet her new daddy!’’

Vika blinked, stone-faced for a second, before breaking out in another blush, feeling strangely meek and nervous about the prospect. ‘’O-Oh...yeah, your adopted daughter...’’ Vika fidgeted in the amused queen’s hold, trying to imagine how her new daughter would react to Vika’s sudden appearance as her father-er, mother...whatever! 

Sensing her lover’s distress, Nailah softly and lovingly nuzzled her cheeks, getting a nice little squeak from the raven. ‘’Calm down, bird. Tania will love ya.’’ she soothed, absently combing a row of Vika’s hair, the cool, night breeze tussling it nonetheless. ‘’You just focus on getting me some feathered wolf babies!’’

Broken out of her melancholy through annoyance, Vika gave Nailah’s tail a particularly hard yank, letting the pleasant sound of pained yelps fill the air. ‘’You just don’t know when to stop, do you, ya mutt?’’ the raven scolded through a strained smile, her twitchy hand still on the trigger. Any attempts at Nailah’s usual quips was met with a threatening bristle of her tail fur, sharp fingertips foretelling of a raven’s wrath. 

‘’H-Hey! Careful with the Hatari national treasure there!’’ Nailah cried, skittishly imploring her captor to release her backside. ‘’I-It’s sensit-III _ahhhhh_...’’

Just as the words came out of her mouth, Vika’s finger accidentally dug past the tail’s fur and along the flesh of the appendage, tracing her dainty raven tips across the responsive surface and inciting a half surprised, half pleasurable moan from its owner.

Vika made a momentary retreat, taken aback by Nailah’s strange reaction. It peaked her curiosity when the woman voiced such a sweet, high, tone, and even more so now as she paled on the grass, eye mortified and cheeks afire.

‘’T-That...wasn’t me.’’ 

Stifling a laugh, the intrigued raven gave in to an impulsive desire and acted on the rather saucy development. Fingers once again intertwined with fur, yet much more delicately this time, Vika delighted in hearing the wolf queen yelp and shiver at her soft, feathery, touch. Her hand stroked the squirming tail with an intimacy reserved for beneath the bedsheets, getting another shrill sound from Nailah. 

With a giddy smile, she leaned her body slowly against Nailah’s, making sure that the wolf felt every bit of her skin. Vika then found her way to Nailah’s head, which was trembling in response to the affectionate contact. In a low hum, her mouth approached a furry ear and breathed a hot breath of heat down its channel, sending jolts down the Hatarian’s spine. 

‘’So, my love, did any of the women back home make you shiver like this?’’ she tantalizingly whispered, sending a fresh column of air through twitchy ears. Dainty fingertips danced across an expense of brown, leaving a trail of goosebumps in their wake as feverish, uncontrollable, pants littered the air. 

‘’S-Stop it...Vika...’’ the shuddering victim hissed through grit teeth, her body completely at the mercy of her attacker. Damn the gods for giving the wolf tribe so many erogenous zones. ‘’I’m...ahhh...’’

Vika delighted in seeing the cocky women melt in her arms. A stray thought fluttered through her mind from the excitement. With a seductive moan, the raven began to whisper sweet nothings in her plaything’s ear, nibbling on flesh for good measure.

‘’You know, all that teasing you did during our journey took its toll on my ‘hot, raven, body’, oh lover dear.’’ As the words entered her ears, Nailah gave a panicked squeak as she suddenly felt a pair of hands slowly and succulently melt down her body. Her eye just about bulged out when the two hands stopped and began to run hot circles at the bottom of her stomach, and just above perhaps the most sensitive erogenous zone on her body. She could barely contain her trembling.

‘’V-v...Vi-Vika!...’’ she quaked, a small river of drool dripping from her hungry mouth. ‘’I’m...ahhh!...D-don’t....haaa...’’

Vika’s fingers continued their dance unhindered. She would gradually allow her fingers to dip a fraction of an inch downwards with each rotation, then slowly trace them upwards when they got too far, causing her prey to hiss lustfully. She eventually moved one of the hands away, getting a half-hearted pant before said panting returned in full force when Nailah felt the hand find its way back towards her tail, stroking it lovingly. This was too much fun.

‘’All that groping, perverted advances, they can really make a girl go crazy in a certain spot.’’ Nailah gave a intense cry as a tongue began to lick its way up her chin, mopping up the trail of drool they dripped from her mouth. She could just barely make out a pair of teal eyes staring seedily back at her through her haze of lust. Vika’s face then propped itself right next to her, placing a wet kiss on the fringes of her lips. 

‘’My, my, Nailah. You’re sweating up a storm here, aren’t you?’’ the raven leered, her cheek sticky were she had made contact with the woman’s skin. Motioning the wolf’s head towards her, Vika breathed a gust of heat right into Nailah’s mouth, eyes piecing and voice low. ‘’Truth of the matter is...’’ Her mouth dipped towards the shivering Hatarian’s ear. ‘’You made me so damn horny, Nailah...’’

Just the mere words seemed to flip a switch in the shaking wolf. Her eye twitched and strained in its socket, her legs buckled and shivered. She was clearly at her limit.

‘’Vi...Vikaaaaa...Please...just...d-d-do i-t...’’ she groaned, hands damning themselves at their inaction.

Yet, Vika made no move herself. She simply sat there, eyes glinted against the moonlight and an amused smile poised on her lips. ‘’Do what, Nailah?’’ she asked, innocence feigned in her eyes. ‘’I can’t do anything if I don’t know what you want.’’

‘’Mahhh...Sss...’’ The Hatarian hissed and breathed at the torture she was being submitted to. She could feel her pride dying before her eyes. ‘’Errr...T-...ahh...t-touch...it...d-do...-e...’’

She sharply inhaled as the fingers on her stomach pressed even harder on her stomach. It even felt like they were moving towards the sacred spot. 

‘’What’s that, my love? Touch? Do? I can’t answer any request with those slovenly speech skills. Tell me _loud and clear_ what it is you oh so desire, Nailah...’’

Oh Naga. She couldn’t take a another minute of this hell. The musk on Vika’s breath, the suppressed pleasure of her touch on her skin. Tears prickled at her eyes in complete angst. She took one shaky breath before kissing her pride goodbye. 

‘’Fu...’’

‘’What’s that?’’ Vika whispered, fingers strengthening their hold. Nailah lost it.

‘’F-Fuck me, Vika! T-Take me! Touch my maidenhood! Haaa...I-I need you...please...’’

‘...oh.’

A scarlet blush burned heavily on Vika’s face as the extremely explicit words entered her ears. As Nailah’s hungry, needy, emerald orb focused on her with an infinite desire, Vika shirked and gaped at how lust driven she had made her new husband. 

‘I...I made have taken this a bit too far.’ She almost felt sorry for what she was going to do next. 

‘’O-Okay, Nailah...S-Since you asked so...passionately...’’

The wolf queen’s senses bursts like fireworks as Vika’s hands stopped swirling and began a slow, delicate migration downwards. 

‘’Ahh...yes...c-closer...’’ Nailah rumbled. Just a bit more distance, just one more haul before sweet, sweet release. ‘’Do it Vika...yes...a-almost...H-Ha?!’’

‘’...pft.’’

Nailah didn’t feel the fingers reach the promised land as she had wished, but make a sudden u-turn back towards her stomach. The dance they did was not the erotic, slow one they had done just moments before, but a lively, giddy tango, tingling her skin with a sensation unlike the one earlier. 

‘...Damn it, Vika!’

In an instant, Nailah’s needy pants were replaced by bubbly, loud, laughter as Vika relentlessly tickled the poor, sexually-repressed queen. 

‘’Heheh. Sorry lover,’’ the raven casually chuckled, arms wrapped in a vicegrip around Nailah’s torso. ‘’but did you really think I’m the type of girl to have pre-marital sex in the middle of an open field? I thought you knew me.’’

‘’Haha...K-Kill-hic...y-you...ha-ahaha...r-really...k-kill...hahahah!’’

Indignant to the threats, Vika happily continued her assault on the wolf’s body, eager to extract every shameful giggle from her perverted companion. Eventually, she did just that as the wolf queen’s body lay sprawled out on the grass in a sad, half-turned on, heap of humiliation. Vika lay next to the woman with a satisfied smirk on her face, playing with Nailah’s sweat, purple locks as the ghost of her former self weakly sizzled in the night breeze.

‘’...-ill you...’’

‘’I heard you the first hundred times, mutt.’’ she teased, before leaning down and planting a kiss on her lover’s cheek. With a sigh, Nailah gave into her wife’s irresistible charm, slowly wrapping an arm around her and snuggling up, a gesture which Vika happily returned. 

‘’Haaa...alright. I’ll forgive you, but this makes up for all of the teasing I did to you ever since we met. I mean, that bullcrap was bordering a war crime! Making me say all those embarrassing as hell things...ahh, man!’’ Nailah moaned as she remembered just how pathetic she had sounded minutes ago, begging and voicing all those morbidly dirty thoughts.

‘’Pffft! I’ll say! ‘Touch my maidenhood’?! Goddess, I got embarrassed just from hearing that!’’ she grinned.

Nailah’s face lit up like a bonfire, swiftly turning her face away from the leering gaze of her tormentor. She grimaced and groaned quietly to herself. ‘’Please don’t remind me. I know my way around when it comes to the action, but Naga hold my tongue if I ever try to put that crap into words. This is exactly why Tania was traumatized going through puberty.’’

‘’Oh, I could tell that from the moment I met you, Nailah.’’ she said smirking, squishing closer into her love’s embrace. ‘’If we ever do have children, I’ll be the one who gives them the talk.’’

‘’No complaints here, bird.’’

The two simultaneously sparked in lively laughter, echoing their mirth for the entire meadow to hear. As the sounds died down, the plains soon descended back into silence as its lone occupants settled down and gazed up at the starry night sky above, heat radiating into each other’s soul. Nailah gave a content sigh as she twiddled with her lover’s hair, who seemed to be enjoying a state of perfect bliss, a smile soft serene upon the breeze and eyes closed with content.

‘I hope my world will be the perfect one you were looking for, Vika.’ she silently said, relishing the silky expense of skin upon hers. ‘Goddess knows that you’re the most important part of mine.’

Just as she finished that thought, Nailah jumped at a sudden feeling of moisture on her arm. Looking down, her ears twitched at the sight of her beloved silently crying, despite the soft smile not weakening even a fraction.

‘’V-Vi-!’’

Her distress was cut short by sudden finger to the lips. Shifting up, the raven simply shook her head before moving in and bringing her into a slow and passionate kiss. Nailah blushed red and feebly squirmed in the steamy embrace of Vika’s need. She gave a very uncharismatic squeak when the raven’s tongue darted between her teeth and made a second excavation of her mouth. Outside, Vika’s hands darted over every inch of the queen’s heated face, as if making sure she was really there. Finally, Vika parted their lips in a smooth and storybook fashion, using a single finger to mop up the strands of saliva that dangled between them. A bright smile bloomed radiantly on her face as she briefly touched their foreheads together, before lowering her body downwards into Nailah’s shoulder, eyes beaming up at her saviour. The teal orbs glistened with such satisfaction, such pure happiness, like a child witnessing the new dawn for the first time in her life. It made Nailah’s heart flutter, as if falling in love all over again.

‘’I’m alright, I’m alright.’’ Vika whispered, wiping the droplets of water from her eyes, yet Nailah could hear the quiver and mild hoarseness in her voice. ‘’It’s...It’s just...I-I never thought I’d be talking about this kind of stuff with you in my wildest dreams, Nailah. Marriage, having kids, hehe, even the bedroom talk!’’ Vika’s eyes began to leak once again, yet it seemed she was too busy trying to keep her emotions under check to notice. Nailah’s hand decided to wipe the tears for her, surprising the raven by gingerly brushing her eyes of the glistening dew, prompting a light smile from the woman. 

‘’I’m just...so, so happy, Nailah...So happy that you care for me that much, that you would make me your wife.’’ Vika shuddered with bliss, arms wrapping around her beloved. ‘’Just...just...Thank you. Thank you, you big, stupid, perverted, amazing woman, you. For all the kindness you brought me, for all the times you comforted me when I was hurting, for showing me such a brave, beautiful, world. For being the piece that covered up that gaping hole in my heart. I love you so much, Nailah. You’re my everything.’’

Nailah could have sworn that her heart physically leap out of her chest as the pure sentiment of the words enveloped her like a warm blanket. She felt that tingly sensation again, the one she often felt when she was around the raven. The feeling that made her want to grasp the ebony-winged beauty’s hand while walking alone together on cold nights, that begged Nailah to give into her impulses and embrace Vika wherever they might be. 

Love. Love. Love that went beyond the bedsheets, love that could only be directed at one person, love that only came once in a lifetime. It was such a foreign concept to the queen, yet in these last couple of months she had spent with Vika, she had felt like she had loved the raven for her entire life. It was an experience she would move mountains to remember, a lavender memory that would sing clear in her mind until the day she passed and Nailah couldn’t be happier. She loved cracking jokes with Vika, loved sharing stories with her, loved spending a night out with her, loved embracing her when she needed it, loved feeling Vika’s skin on hers, loved just being next to her precious sun and moon. Vika simply lit her soul in a way that she never thought could have been done, and she needed that light to burn bright for as long as she drew breath.

With a one of the most innocent smiles she had ever formed, Nailah cupped her lover’s cheeks and slowly brought the two into another kiss, savouring the sweet joining as if it were their last. As it came to an end, she gave a half laugh, half sob of joy before pulling Vika deeper into her arms, nuzzling her precious spouse. 

‘’I couldn’t have said it better myself, bird. You’re the spark in my life I never knew I needed. Every moment I’m with you fills me with feelings I never thought I could form, never knew felt so good. I love you, Vika. I love you so damn much. I will always be by your side. As long as you stay by mine.’’

Vika chuckled through her tears, wiping drops of wetness off against her love’s creamy, brown skin. This was all she ever could have wanted. ‘’Sniff, heh. It’s a deal.’’

Weathered, exhausted, and both missing a couple litres of their saliva, the two newlyweds settled down among the grass and back of the meadow’s cradle, body’s entwined and hearts beating in sync. Lingering ashes of sparkling colour could still be seen sprinkling through the landscape, orphaned by the recent spectacle of fireworks. It amplified and shimmered against the white, crystalline canvas of the night sky, Ashera, Naga, and everything in-between celebrating their marriage through a radiant display of light. 

Cool night-time breeze flowed across their skin. Forest and pine invaded their noses. It seemed like the entire landscape had blessed their sanctimony. They peeked their eyes open and stole a peek at the beauty above them, creating new memories for the starry sky to record, before sharing a final, loving glance.

No words were uttered, but their messages reached each other loud and clear.

‘I love you.’

The conscious world faded from the two women’s mind as they drifted off into a pleasant sleep, accompanying each other to the dreams of tomorrow. Whatever the world would throw at them, they stayed blissfully ignorant. They would deal with it, triumph, then hold each other in their arms again. They had no worries to worry about, no guilts to weep about. All that mattered in this moment was the beating of the heart next to them, the image of intimacy inside their dreams. 

‘Goddess, thank you. Thank you for this chance. This chance to be happy.’

That night, they slept peacefully until the new dawn.


	13. Epilogue

‘’Ha...Alright, that’s the last of them.’’ Vika sighed, placing a freshly sharpened blade on the weapon rack. ‘’You humans sure have it rough if this is what you go through before every battle.’’

‘’Oh gods, it’s finally over.’’ a green haired man said, eyes seeming to be even less visible from his fatigue. He offered a tired, yet appreciative smile to the laguz. ‘’Thank you for your help, by the way, miss Vika, and sorry for dragging you into us human’s laborious affairs.’’

Walking past him, the redheaded beauty by his side approached the blade and began to analyze it, eyes drinking the sword’s lustre as they scanned for imperfections. Picking it up, the female knight swung a few practice swipes with the weapon, humming approvingly as the very air shrieked from the blade’s acute edge. ‘’For a laguz, you have such a high skill in smithery, Vika. I’ve never been able to forge my blade to be as half as sharp as you have.’’

The raven chuckled bashfully at the praise. ‘’When I was a slave, my master would often make me sharpen his weapons until they would cut you it you even looked at it. I suppose his threats was a good incentive to learn.’’ Hopping to her feet, the weary bird gave a resounding groan as she stretched out her fatigued muscles. Despite her best efforts to relax, the glint off the infinite weapons that littered the room was too damning a reminder of what they were being prepared for. Her mind refused to pacify in wake of this knowledge, Vika sighing with defeat and worry. ‘’Tomorrow's really the day, huh, miss Titania, Oscar?’’

The two beorc exchanged strained glances, before Titania made her way over to the flap of the supply tent they were in. Lifting it up, the woman gave a hard stare into the night horizon. Joining her, Vika could quickly make out the object which she was staring at. Like a candle through the darkness, the usual shroud of night was broken by a large, glowing structure that shone unnaturally bright against the midnight landscape. It looked as if a lance was piecing the heaven’s themselves.

‘’The Tower of Guidance...’’ Vika shuddered, her nerves getting the best of her.

‘’We will be reaching Sienne in the morning.’’ Titania confirmed, her stare unwavering. ‘’As you can see, the glow from the tower is increasing every passing day. Regardless of if the other teams had made it, we need to storm the tower and put an end to this once and for all.’’ The woman’s eyes squinted with a steely glaze, as if contemplating if she herself believed the words that would come out of her mouth. ‘’We need to kill Ashera.’’

Vika scrunched up painfully, like the words themselves had struck her. Had someone said that to her at any other time, she would have instantly dismissed them as insane. Yet, the things see had witnessed these last few weeks, the ‘miracles’ which had rocked the very continent, they had made her question the whole foundation of which her faith was built, of her life was built.

Holy Ashera, the benevolent goddess which was supposed to guide her children in their times of need, had condemned them. The infighting between the laguz and beorc had reached such a calamity, that she Ashera had decided to pass judgement on tainted world. Every single laguz and beorc living on Tellius, with the exception of a few chosen, were cast into stone. The few that remained, dubbed ‘The Chosen Ones’ by the not-so-dark god that had resided in Lehran’s Medallion, now fought against hordes of the goddess’s minions in order to bring back life to their silent world. 

Yet, they were fighting against Ashera! The goddess who many of them, including Vika, had prayed and honoured throughout their entire lives! Despite the atrocities she had seen wrought, Vika still felt odd using her strength to fight she who had brought light into some of Vika’s darkest moments as a slave.

‘’It all feels so surreal, huh? Fighting Ashera of all people.’’ Oscar chimed as he joined the two outside the tent. ‘’And here I thought that the night before Ashnard was gonna be most nerve-wracking night of my life.’’ 

The redhead passed light smirk towards her partner. ‘’Oh, I wouldn’t rule that one out just yet, Oscar. You were up all night polishing Boyd’s and Rolf’s weapons and you wouldn’t stop practicing your riding.’’ The gold knight then returned her gaze to the sparkling, night horizon, as if searching it for answers. 

‘’Though I understand both of your sentiments. But, even in spite of our faith and beliefs, that doesn’t change the fact that Ashera is the one that is responsible for turning all the frozen people to stone. I cannot accept the goddess’s judgement if it means the ones who we love are to be harmed from it. Perhaps it is time the beorc and laguz took our destiny into our own hands.’’

Vika nodded heart-heartedly at the knight’s proposal. She had worshiped the goddess her entire life, thanked her for the sun at every dawn. But, the thought that Ashera wished to erase life on Tellius, erase the lives of everyone she held dear, it made her very angry. Her mind drifted to the weight on her one of her fingers, lifting up a hand to inspect the lovely, silver ring which lay cradled on her digit.

‘Especially since I’m about to get married.’ She doubted that she would allowed even the goddess herself to stop her from getting to that ceremony.

‘’Hmm, do not let it fester in your mind too much, miss Vika.’’ Titania warmly said, softly pushing the raven from the tent. ‘’I believe it’s time for you to turn in. You’ve done more than enough helping us prepare our weapons. Now go get some well deserved sleep for tomorrow and thank you.’’

Vika wanted to protest, but the aching in her bones managed to hold her tongue. With a nod and a wave, she bid farewell to the two knights and set a course for her tent. It really had been a crazy last couple of weeks for her. After the goddess’s judgement came, she, Tormod, Muarim, along with King Caineghis and Giffa, were the only ones to be spared the petrifying effects of the light in all of castle Gallia. The king instructed her and her friends to travel eastward, towards the last known location of the medallion, and try to find the herons, Nailah, and Skrimir while he and Giffa would journey to Goldoa to try and find more survivors. Finding nothing but statues and hostile disciples of the goddess, it wasn’t until Vika and company journeyed to Begnion that they found survivors.

Not just any survivors, but the Greil Mercenaries themselves, lead by the legendary General Ike, hero of The Mad King’s War. Yet, among the faces of all the great warriors, Vika was only able to see one out of the countless laguz and beorc. Her love’s. 

‘’Oh gods, I can’t believe I started crying in front of everyone.’’ the raven gritted as she waded through the cool, night wind. As soon as she Nailah’s face again, she immediately forgot about the leagues of blood-thirsty soldiers at her back and passionately dived right into her beloved’s arms...right in front of the mercenaries. 

Passing a lit firepit, Vika could see Muarim and Tormod having a friendly chat with one of their old friends, a frail looking bishop with orange hair. She often forgot that her comrades once served alongside the legendary mercenaries. She gave a passing wave when the two made eye contact with her, before finally reaching her tent. Succumbing to her body’s pleas, the raven wasted no time in ripping the flap open and collapsing onto her soft mattress. Except, what she fell onto was not as soft as she had expected. It most felt hard and stiff, save for a two very soft spots around the mid-region...

‘’...EEEEEEEPPP!’’

The ‘mattress’ suddenly sprung to life as a pair of familiar brown hands erupted from underneath Vika and made a beeline for her stomach, where they danced and frolicked off its surface.

‘’How disappointing, bird. Not checking your tent for assassins during these troubled times? What if one were to come in here and simply...eat you all up?’’

Vika shrieked and squealed as the trespasser continued the assault on her stomach. Through her laughs, Vika bent an arm behind her and searched the mattress for a certain something. When her hand finally found the furry item, she immediately yanked hard and unforgivingly on the tail. Now it was the assailant's turn to yell, though Vika didn’t spare her any breath before twisting the tail and body around and pinning the person down on the real mattress, an arm bent the wrong way behind her back and a twitchy hand still on a death grip around the tail. 

‘’Ow, ow! Just a joke, Vika! Stop picking on my tail so much! Ow! Vikaaaaa!’’

‘’You never learn, do you, your majesty.’’ the raven mockingly triumphed. ‘’And no, there will be no ‘touching of maidenhoods’ tonight either, so don’t beg.’’

Vika could feel the heat burn on Nailah’s face as the shamed wolf relived the murder of her pride. ‘’You’re never gonna let me forget that, will you?’’

The raven simply gave a playful shake of her head before releasing the restraints and flipping her captive over. She then heatedly yanked on the beads around the surprised Hatarian’s neck and brought the two into a long, needy kiss. Vika finished the meeting with a sly licking of the flustered woman’s wet lip and then sank down into her lover’s warm arms, eyes closed and content.

‘’I really missed doing that, Nailah.’’ 

Nailah took a moment to calm the smashing of her heart before slowly joining her wife in her comfort, pulling a sheet over them. ‘’Missed ya too, bird. So, you ready for the big day tomorrow? I’ve never fought a goddess before!’’ 

Sparkles danced on the queen’s eyes as she silently dreamed about tomorrow. Vika could only smirk at how excited she was when the rest of the camp were having their nerves fried tonight. She forgot how much of a battle-lust her husband could have. 

‘’You’re not even a little worried that we could all be turned to stone this time tomorrow?’’ she asked, brushing a stray strand of hair from her lover’s face.

‘’Aw, come on! This is a classical storybook setting! Dashing heroes have their final fight with the big boss, then win and the devilishly handsome wolf queen gets the girl.’’ 

Despite the woman’s overwhelming bravado, Vika still couldn’t force the worry from her mind. Supposedly, some of this worry was present on her face, since Nailah took notice, squeezing an arm tight around Vika’s pale shoulders. ‘’Don’t worry, Vika, I’ll be careful. I didn’t muster up all that courage to propose to you just to get my ass petrified before our wedding...and that goes for you too, alright? If you go dying on me without ever giving me some hanky-panky, I’ll never forgive you.’’ the wolf grinned, a small trace of worry overshadowed by her charming charisma. 

Vika tried to come up with a witty comeback, yet her tongue was held by the vibrant, invigorating smile perched picturesquely on her beautiful face. It was in that moment that Vika found her resolve. When she tried to picture the sight of Nailah’s radiance and beauty being replaced by eternal motionless, she felt infuriated. The very idea that such an amazing, gifted, smile could be one day be locked away in a cold, stone, prison was unthinkable. Both of them had went through such measures and willpower to finally confess to each other. They were getting married for heck’s sake! Vika would never let anything take that away from her, even if it meant fighting holy Ashera one-on-one.

‘My goddess. I’m sorry for how your children have acted, for how we have failed you. We deserve damnation for the sins we have committed...yet, at the same time, we do not deserve to accept it. The beauty you have put in this world, souls that you have birthed, they all have a place so close to our hearts, that we would even fight you in order to secure. Thank you for the righteous dusk, thank you for the radiant dawn, and thank you for everything in between. I will prove to you that this world can be unified in the way you desired nearly a thousand years ago, even if it means beating the knowledge into your incandescent form, my goddess.’

Vika held Nailah closer than any other time she had in her life. ‘’I’ll be safe, Nailah. We have our entire lives ahead of us, so many things to enjoy, so many moon-lit kisses to be had. Even the reaper himself couldn’t keep me away from your arms. I love you.’’

With a flattered blush, the wolf queen returned the tight embrace, pecking her wife softly on the forehead. ‘’You stunning romantic, you. We’ll triumph over this, my love. There’s no chance we won’t. And when we do, I’m going to show you every single sight I talked about, you’ll see them in their full glory with the Hatari wind on your face and my hand in yours. Sweet dreams, Vika, and sleep knowing that you will have many more in my arms. I love you, too.’’

Tears prickled out of the raven’s eyes. As long as she had these arms to fall asleep in, she felt invincible. No force on Tellius, Hatari, or anywhere else could stop them from being together. Thus, Vika slept soundly that night before their final battle. She had no fears, no regrets. Only a dazzling, beautiful, light-purple future to look forward to, and nothing was going to stop her from reaching it.

-

‘’I AM KIERAN, DEPUTY COMMANDER OF THE CRIMEAN ROYAL KNIGHTS! TREMBLE BEFORE CRIMEA’S MIGHT, HEATHENS!’’ 

Vika groaned as she watched the overly enthusiastic knight run amuck across the battlefield. He was so focused on the chasing the paladins in front of him, that he didn’t even notice the pegasus knight diving at him with a lance trained on his head. With a loud caw, Vika intercepted the pegasus and slashed right into the disciple's golden flesh. Latching onto the rider, she made a few finishing pecks to the neck before sending the drone crashing towards the ground. 

The red knight, finishing off a paladin with his short axe, suddenly appeared by the raven’s side, eyes beaming and alit. ‘’Many thanks, raven ally! My sights were too deadlocked on the cowardly foes in front of me, thus had no time for watching my behind! Now, let us return to the battle! HIYAH!’’

With a whooping cry, the red knight charged right back into battle, throwing his axe right into the back of a sniper who had his bow trained on a pair of hawks. She gave a passing smirk at the man, before flying back into the fray herself, trying her best to keep the glow and presence of the mighty tower to her back from distracting her. 

Currently, the majority of the chosen ones were engaged in heated fight against hordes of reanimated corpses, brought back to ‘life’ by the goddess in order to stop them. Their job was to prevent any of the zombies from entering the tower and attacking the team in there, whose job was to deal with the goddess personally. The strike force was led by the group’s strongest warriors and most capable leaders, including the hero Ike, lady Micaiah, and the laguz royals, which held a certain queen of Hatari. Both she and Nailah were a bit apprehensive about about on separate teams, but Vika had reassured her that she would be fine, though she was more worried about Nailah, who was soon going to face Ashera herself. 

Suddenly, the thoughts were violently ripped from her mind as she saw a sharp spear soar right towards her. Vika barely managed to dodge it as part of the tip cut a nasty wound across her feathers. Grunting, the raven raced straight at her attacker, baiting the halbredier to waste another of his spears by swooping directly up, much too high for the corpse’s muscles to throw. Before he could ready another one, Vika dived and slashed quickly at the being’s legs before turning about and piecing the back of the kneeling lancer. It gave a monotonous grunt as Vika ripped into the flesh of his now exposed back, culminating in a fading sigh when Vika finished him off with a slash to the neck. 

But the raven had no time to rest, since as soon as she had felled the halbredier, she heard a foreboding crackling to her back, twisting her neck to find a sage muttering spells as electricity glistened on his arms. Vika tried to fly away, but could only wince in pain as she realized the wound she had received severely hampered her flying capabilities. The raven curled up as she prepared to be shocked by streams of thunder, yet the sensation never came, seemingly replaced by a sharp piercing sound. Opening her eyes, Vika gasped as she saw a lance sticking out of the sage’s stomach. It shuddered slightly before collapsing, revealing a navy blue halbredier behind him, his lance red with fresh blood. 

‘’Ah, Aran!’’ Vika yelled. The man removed his helmet, allowing his neon-green hair to spill out before giving the raven a friendly nod. If he was here, then...

‘’Oh, Vika! Your wing!’’ 

Turning towards the familiar voice, Vika swore that the staff almost collided with her as the beorc priest, now bishop, Laura dived down next to the wounded raven, a somewhat disappointed look on her face. 

‘’Vika! What did I say about taking care of yourself! Don’t go pursuing enemies if your wounded like this!’’ the young woman fumed, that adorable pout still perched on her face. 

Vika could only smile at the dotting priest, revert to allow Laura a better view of her wing, which she quickly bathed in a blue light. ‘’Sorry, Laura, sorry. But you know how it is. Gotta protect cute girls’ smiles and all that...but I suppose you already have someone for that, huh?’’ turning a sly smirk to the blue halbredier who had decided to join them, causing the two beorc to blush red.

‘’Erg, not in the middle of a battle, Vika...’’ the girl groaned, trying not to make eye contact with the soldier. Vika just laughed at the two lovebirds before jumping to her feet, flapping her healed wing for good measure. 

‘’You can’t hide your secrets from my raven eyes. But, really, thanks for the save, Aran, and thanks for the healing, Laura. Now, we should get back to the bat-ouf!’’

‘’Oh, me next!’’ 

The weight on Vika’s back quickly corrected herself as Vika faced her assaulter. Her eyes were met with a familiar head of orange hair as well as two equally familiar, orange ears. ‘’How’s it hanging, Vika? Kicking gold butt?’’ Lyre grinned. 

Vika smirked at her friend, giving the cat a meaningful rustle of her hair. ‘’I was going to until you decided to body slam me. Shouldn’t you be in the middle of the fray right now, you little scamp?’’

The cat gave a dramatically hurt look as she stuck out her bottom lip to the raven, Vika simply stifling a snort. ‘’But I’m hurt too, see!’’ Lyre turned over her leg, revealing a slight wound across her calve. It was deep enough to bleed, but not really significant enough to dash yourself towards a healer. The cat most likely just wanted an excuse to talk to Vika. 

Yet, Laura was happy to help regardless, offering a kind smile to the cat before stitching the cut with her staff.

‘’Thanks!’’ Lyre yelped appreciatively. ‘’Oh, and can I get some pure water, too? My sister got a couple of fireballs launched at her so I think a little something would help.’’

Laura swiftly nodded before reaching into her robes and pulling out a small vial of liquid which she passed to the cat, which she happily took.

‘’Your sister, huh?’’ Vika asked, mind flashing back to the night where Lyre had slapped the elder cat. ‘’Are you guys alright now? ‘Cause the last time I saw you two together, it wasn’t exactly sisterly bonding.’’ 

The cat just offered a quick roll of the eyes, though Vika could detect the faint traces of a blush on her cheeks. ‘’Yeah, she smartened up. Pretty sure my slap knocked some sense into her! Hehe, but she still nags at me after every battle.’’ 

‘’My, my. Acting like an old married couple already, huh?’’ the raven teased, a sly leer in her face. ‘’You cat laguz sure do work fast.’’

Lyre bit back a scowl and blush before giving her friend an annoyed slap with her tail, the two letting out slight giggles as they were pleasantly greeted by a wave of nostalgia. 

‘’I don’t mean to cut into your bonding, guys, but we’re kinda in the middle of the battle to save the continent right now.’’ Aran anxiously butted. 

Just as he said that, the recently re-killed corpse of a warrior came skidding in front of the group. Looking back, Vika saw the Gallian heir Skrimir pounce and smash through his enemies like rag dolls as he tore into golden plate and flesh. To his right stood the last of Daein’s Four Riders, Tauroneo, who would complement the lion’s fury with his blade while despatching secluded fire mages with his spear. Directly behind the marshal, was the Prince of Daein, Pelleas, who was summoning wisps of chilling shadows to strike at far off foes that the other two couldn’t reach. Vika noted that the former two had some rather nasty wounds decorating their bodies.

‘’Laura. They could use some healing.’’ Aran said bluntly before rushing off to assist his comrades. The priest was quickly behind the soldier, offering Vika a short wave goodbye before departing to help the three men, a physic staff already shining magically in her hands.

Vika smiled for a moment as she breathed in the hope that presented itself even amidst all fighting. Never had she seen so many laguz and beorc fight alongside one another her entire life. Talons protecting armour, magic protecting fur. Just as Nailah had describe happen on her continent, the citizens of Tellius now learned to fight and bleed alongside their brothers and sisters, no matter what manner of fur or appendages that adorned the other’s body. All that mattered now was saving the world and protecting each other. Truly, she was witnessing a glorious new dawn for Tellius.

‘’Stop daydreaming and come on!’’ the cat to her side hastily cried, snapping Vika out of her speculation as a hand dragged her back into the fight. Right, fighting first, philosophy later.

‘’Sooooo...What’s with the ring, Vika?’’ Lyre eventually leered, a disgustingly sweet flair to her voice as the two raced past warring soldiers.

‘...oh gods, no.’

In a blur, Vika’s other hand instinctively covered the one harbouring her dazzling gift from Nailah as a scarlet heat sizzled free against her skin. 

‘’I-I-I-I-I d-d-d-on’t...w-what you’re...HOLDing t-this f-for a f-friend...haha...ha...’’

‘’Heeeee, I knew it, girl! I told you she would propose to you!’’ the orange cat screeched. Vika sincerely wished that these corpses hadn’t retained their hearing for this shame was too much. ‘’How did she do it?! Did you go all the way?! You have to tell me EVERYTHING.’’ 

Physically forcing the red from her face, Vika shoved the composure back into her face. ‘’N-Not now, Lyre. I’m still wrapping my head around it myself.’’

The cat gave a small pout, though the carnage around her was a wise testament to Vika’s words. ‘’Hmm, alright. But you’re telling me every, single, intimate detail about it...Hee, what did I say? Told you she’s crazy about ya.’’ Lyre purred, giving her friend a quick wink.

‘’Thanks to your ‘amazing’ romance advice, I’m sure. Hell, I’ll even invite you to the wedding, so long as you don’t lick me again in front of my new husband. I still don’t think she’s forgiven you for that.’’

Right in the middle of their little moment, however, Vika heard a tremendous scream thunder right next to them. The roar had come from a massive wyvren, who was in the midst of crushing a sage beneath his heavy claws as its rider, a familiar face the Vika knew belonged to a Jill Fizzart, hacked and slashed down scores of advancing soldier with her brave axe. Vika was about to cry out as she noticed a swordsmaster sneak up behind her, yet her worries died unannounced as a nostalgic jingle danced upon the wind, heralding the entrance of Lethe, which swiftly fell the unwary corpse with a precise cut to the neck. The dracolord flashed her partner a thankful smile before the two returned to the combat, axe and paws dancing in perfect unison. 

‘’Lethe! Come on, Vika! Time to show these golden freaks what the breathing can do!’’

With a focused nod, Vika followed the lead of her friend as she transformed and made a rush for the enemies circling the rider and cat, talons and claws glistening.

‘I’ll wait for you, my love.’

-

Vika let out a dreamy sigh as she watched the sun slowly dip below the desert horizon, showering the endless expense of The Grann in a beautiful shade of purplish-orange as pinks and blues swirled around the setting sun. She let her body sink into the warm sand as she silently lay beneath the divine sunset. 

‘’Haaaaa...’’ She allowed herself to close her eyes for a little while, letting the explosion of senses on her skin do the looking for her.

It had been a couple weeks since they had defeated Ashera and unpetrified all of the people frozen in stone. It was a long and bloody battle outside the tower, but all of it was worth it when they finally saw the tower dim it’s ominous glow, hear the confused chatter of citizens waking up around the city, and see their friends triumphantly walk out of the tower, safe and victorious. After that, the continent slowly began to recover from the stressful events that had quickly rocked its surface just a few weeks prior. 

Fortunately, as Vika had hoped, something good did manage to bloom from the war, as both the laguz and beorc finally came together as allies to rebuild their home, just as Ashera had wished all those hundreds of years ago. Relationships between laguz and beorc countries were greatly bolstered as their leaders had fought beside each other during the incident, leading to many harmonious laws being passed and bridges being built between the two races. Even Hatari was included in on the handshaking, with many talks being had about both continents sending colonies to each other’s land to establish relationships and trade routes. 

As to why the queen of said continent wasn’t wrapped in Vika’s arms this very moment, well was a momentary casualty of all the peace treaties. Shortly after the war, Nailah and Volug had realized that they were months due from the date they told the Hatari council that they would return. Vika didn’t want to admit it, but both the wolves were much faster than her when it came to manoeuvring through the grainy, desert atmosphere, thus she would probably slow them down. 

In addition, with all the racial reformation taking place on the continent, the high empress of Begnion herself, Sanaki, had petitioned for Vika’s help in aiding in laguz/beorc relationships in her country, which had quite a history of racial tension between the two species. She was hardly in a position to refuse, since her connections and experiences in the Emancipation Army made her a perfect candidate for the job. 

She still remembered all the apologies and snivelling that ran out of Nailah’s mouth when she told Vika that she and Volug had to leave early. Vika simply smiled and reassured her that it was fine. She knew that Nailah would never leave her behind for long and the wolf queen feverishly assured Vika that she would be back for her as soon as possible. 

The raven allowed her eyes to momentarily open a sliver, tingling as the basking sunlight pleasurably stung at her retinas, a radiant fire on the horizon that still burned in this goddessless world. It had been a pleasant last couple of weeks, despite it all. Seeing her people break bread with the humans that they once despise was a dream come true for the raven. She enjoyed teaching her old friends back in the Grann of amazing things she saw on her journeys, of all good she saw that the humans were capable of. She felt like she herself was physically sewing the millennia long tear between the two races. 

When she wasn’t on the apostle’s payroll, Vika enjoyed the fruits of her labour and the leisure that came with a continent at peace. She spent some time in Gallia a couple weeks back, hanging out with Lyre as she helped in the country’s cultural enrichment. She also had the pleasure of being in Serenes when the herons had preformed the grand forest rebirthing ritual. It had to have been one of the most amazing sights her unworthy eyes ever was graced with. The sight of the four noble herons echoing an eternal galdr through the entire forest will an ethereal light, sparkling with every conceivable colour danced along with it. Serenes looked like a garden fit for the gods in wake of the stunning ritual.

Vika let the memories wane for a second, scooping up a handful of sand and watching the warm particles slowly slip through her fingers, little crystals gleaming in the sunset. 

‘’Ha...Nailah...’’

She knew that her love was eventually going to come for her, and she had told her that she could live for a couple weeks without her...but that feeling of hot, brown, skin against her own and the heart-warming scent of musky desert could never be replaced. She wanted to be with Nailah now. She wanted to feel the gorgeous wolf’s heartbeat, see the adoration and need in that piercing, green, eye, to taste the sweet tang of her hot, sticky, saliva, to......ahem.

A little blush coloured the raven’s face, those it was easily paled by amber rays of the dying sun. ‘’Gods, I really am addicted to her touch.’’ the woman embarrassingly admitted, though she didn’t linger on the heat for too long.

Soon she would be reunited with her goddess. They would have a wonderful, storybook, wedding under the sunset, Nailah would carry her to her new home in those, big, strong, arms, then Vika would enjoy teasing the sensitive wolf as she mewed and squirmed in her Vika’s arms. 

‘’I can’t wait. Ahh...my new life...with Nailah...mmmm...’’

She let herself retire into her fantasies for once. Fantasies of forests with trees as tall as castles, fantasies of a landscape as unique as its people, fantasies of brown topped with purple. The isolated patch of desert she was nested on seemed to be devoid of life, yet, if she imagined really hard, the fantasies and memories that waltzed through her mind felt so real, so vivid, so warm...

The spice that lingered on the desert breeze reminded that of Nailah’s scent. The tender hold of the fine sand felt like the comforting hold of her lover’s arms. She could almost feel Nailah, taste Nailah, hear Nailah....

Awoooo-ooohh...

Vika’s eyes shot open. 

‘That voice.’

She knew that sound, that voice. The voice that talked to the moon, the voice that signalled the death of its enemies, and the death of Vika’s pride. A voice both brought both a grimace to her cheeks, and yet happy tears to her eyes. As the raven throttled herself up from her sand bath, eyes darting around the landscape for fur, the first thing she noticed was not a glowing, white wolf, but something... something... no really, what the hell is that?!

Approaching from behind a sand dune was this very strange, and very terrifying looking monstrosity. It seemed to be a living tree of sort, bobbing its ‘head’ closer and closer as it breached over the dune. Wait...dune... As it approached into view, Vika noticed that it looked shockingly similar to one of the laguz Nailah had mentioned, that had come from Hatari. Just as she finished that thought, a couple of birds seemed to accompany it over the sands. One of them Vika almost mistook for a heron, sparkling white wings shimmering in the sunset. The other seemed to be a staggering clump of feathers, downs so long and thick, she wondered how it was able to stay aloft. 

Yet, even those strange sights wasn’t able to stay in Vika’s mind when she finally laid eyes on the figure that had filled her dreams every night. A white wolf, standing proud and regal against the orange, desert sands. Behind her, a small army of sorts seemed to be emerging from the dune, laguz of all shapes and sizes with beorc clad in exotic armours that walked among them. Yet, the two women payed them no mind. All that mattered to them was the lover in front of them. 

They both raced towards each other at the same time, Nailah reverting in a flash while Vika’s wings rustled forgotten in her excitement as splashes of sand erupted from beneath her feet. Leagues of hot, desert, surface felt like nothing for the raven. She needed Nailah in her arms right now, her blood screamed for it. 

‘’Nai-Nailah!’’

‘’Vika!’’

They were a stone’s throw apart now. Vika could see the beautiful glimmer in the vibrant, green, eye, the little creases on her face as Nailah smiled at her own. She could almost smell Nailah’s enrapturing scent, whispers of musk flirting with her nostrils. That just made her run even harder, feet blazing so rapidly against the sand that they draw blood, until, until...

‘’NAILAH!’’

The next thing Vika saw was a blur of purple and brown. She felt the waking world around them melt away as her lips made a passionate reunion with those of her lover’s. She felt completely whole in those few seconds. She felt the tingling warmth of the sun within her chest, the velvety expense of paradise upon her skin, the essence of ambrosia inside her mouth. They kept their dance going for a little longer before making a loud, breathy, parting, happy smiles resting in the glow of the sunset.

‘’Sniff, told ya I’d be back, bird.’’ Nailah sweetly smirked, letting the tears dripping from her eyes fall free as she enjoyed the heat that she was denied too long. 

‘’Sniff, you took your damn time, you mutt! And what was that about never letting anyone see you cry? How, sniff...embarrassing.’’ 

Vika, too, let her tears run free as Nailah comforted the raven in her strong, warm, arms. After all those cold nights alone, Vika took time to relish in the heat of her loved one. Gods, how she missed this feeling.

‘’Heh, I’ve given up around you, Vika. You make me feel too mushy with that cute face of yours.’’

The raven jingled with happy laughter. She must have been an idiot if she was able to swoon at such a lame pick-up line. But she didn’t mind being stupid with Nailah.

‘’Love you, Nailah.’’ she squeaked, contently nuzzling up to the Hatarian’s neck.

‘’Hehe, love you too, Vi-’’

‘’MOTHER!’’ 

All of a sudden, their heart-feat reunion was harshly cut off as a pair of hands practically ripped the two apart, Vika giving a small moan of displeasure at the lost contact and Nailah falling to the ground with a thud. As her vision refocused, she could see the person who interrupted them was a young beorc woman, eyes wide and red etched over her face. She was a pretty little thing, short, ebony hair and a very sleek figure. She wore decorated, yet light, armour that seemed to signify her high ranking and professionalism. 

‘’Y-Your majesty, w-what on Hatari are you doing, preforming such crass acts in front of the entire convoy!’’

At the prompt, Vika’s eyes slowly drifted over towards the group of a couple dozen people that she had forgotten were there. Birds, beorc, and worm abominations alike were staring at the raven with jaws dropped and imaginations’ wild. A great wildfire of heat burned across her face as she realized she had just french-kissed the queen in front of her subjects.

‘’Aww, cut it out, Tania! I’ve sat through the better half of a month listening to bullshit politics. Let me rub against my woman for a little!’’ the miffed queen whined, playfully tossing some sand at the fuming advisor. ‘’Besides, is that any way to behave in front of your new father?’’

Her blush intensifying, the girl gawked for a moment before tracing her eyes toward’s Vika, both women staring at each other uncomfortably until Tania offered out a shaky hand. With slight apprehension, Vika eventually accepted the offered, slightly shaking herself, and allowed her new... daughter to help her to her feet. 

‘’Er, thank you... honey...’’ she mumbled, bringing increased awkwardness for both of them. 

‘’N-No problem... f-father...’’

‘’...’’

‘’...’’

Tania finally snapped. ‘’A-ANYWAYS, Y-YOUR H-H-HIGHNESSES, I-I should go check on the convoy! P-Please excuse me!’’

Sweating up a storm, the knight raced and stumbled back towards the sortie, limbs flailing in the sand and hands covering her beet-red face. Vika silently saw her off, hand waving loosely, as Nailah slowly began to slink her way over, crackling with amusement.

‘’Pfffft, ‘honey’?! Really?! You sure don’t beat around the bush, daddy dearest!’’ she guffawed, slapping an arm round the raven’s twitching back.

‘’S-Shut up! Y-You think I have experience in greeting foreign in-laws from another species?!’’ Though her brief humiliation was swiftly suppressed when Nailah slipped a calming hand into her palm, the rough, yet delicate, cover of skin squeezing away her troubles. 

‘’Relax, lover. She’ll come around eventually. Right now, why don’t you give some attention to your emotionally-repressed husband, Vika. Those Hatarian nights were lonely without the tickle of your feathers and the cushion of your bosom.’’

She waited for the stuttering and embarrassment, but surprisingly, none came. She stifled a snicker as she realized that she must have gotten used to all the dis-tasteful quips and jeers by now. She feigned annoyance for a moment, turning her head away with a scoff, before suddenly pouncing and ensnaring the unwary wolf as she pressed her heated body and bosom up against Nailah. Black wings quickly wrapped themselves around the two, shielding them from the group of onlookers.

Vika gave a hot smirk and a low growl as she pressed her face against the Nailah’s heated own before forcing her into a sloppy, wanting, kiss. As she finished the assault, she hummed coyly into the shuddering queen’s ear. 

‘’Oh, believe me when I say that I’m just as needy as you are, Nailah. Just wait until we’re away from prying eyes and I’ll show you just how repressed I am.’’

The Hatarian babbled feverishly for a moment, eyes spinning and legs twitching, but quickly shallowed her skittishness as she swivelled her blazing face away from her wife and giving her a teasing punch to the shoulder. 

‘’Y-You’re killing me, Vika.’’ she gritted, trying not to make eye contact with the raven’s leering eyes. ‘’First you make me cry in front of my people, then you wanna make me dirty my panties too? Heh, you’d be a natural in court.’’

‘’Yeah, well, no one can touch maidenhoods as well as I do, it seems. Keeps the wolves in their place.’’

They shared a cheerful laugh at that (though at the cost of more royal pride), before locking eyes beneath the light of the dying sun, bodies still intertwined. Vika sighed dreamily at the sight of her lover bathed in such soft, yet vibrant, shades of purples and oranges. She looked so fresh, so nostalgic, so... Nailah. This was it. This was her new world, the world where she could forget her tears and live free, free and happy. This was hers and hers alone. She brought herself closer into those inviting, brown arms, saying her farewells to the ashes of her old world as she stepped into Nailah’s.

‘’Take me home, my love. Take me home to my new world... and let’s be happy, together.’’ 

Nailah hummed tenderly at the sight, tracing her lover’s lips before leading them back towards Hatari, bodies still intertwined. ‘’Heh, no problem, you cheesy romantic you. As long as you return the favour, I’ll always be by your side, now and forever.’’ 

As they made way towards the convoy, the sunset was in the midst of its final show, the last quarter of fire burning vividly hot, as striking colours of tranquil intensity gave one last parting gift to today’s horizon. The light stung so pleasurably at Vika’s eyes.

‘’Bright, isn’t it.’’ Nailah breathed, her face a dazzling basin of colour from the dance light. 

Vika looked not at the sunset, but at her sunrise. A face of unearthly beauty, a face with colours as tranquil and comforting as the whitest snow and vibrant and lively as the hottest fires. A face she would wake up every morning to see, and the face that would send her off to sleep. The raven’s lips stretched wider than they ever had before, eyes glinting with joy as they sung their hopes to the fading sun above. 

‘’...hmm, yeah. It is now.’’


	14. Extra: Cats in the Cradle

‘’Arrggghhaa!’’

The fumbling bandit let out a shout as the orange cat pounced through his defences. Feeling unusually generous today, Lethe decided to spare the buffoon a permanent dirt nap by swiping the axe out of his hands and knocking the man down to the ground with a kick, where he and his injured comrades wept and snivelled at their attackers. 

‘’R-Run! It’s not worth it, boys!’’

In a chorus of cries and wet pants, the small group of trespassers ran for the hills from the growling laguz before them, bodies bloody and pride all but gone. The Gallians gave a collective roar as they announced their victory to the forest, all but one cat growling and pounding dust into the cool, evening air. Said cat reverted in a dazzling flash of white, before putting on a grimace as she stared at the midnight moon, perched high in the sky of dusk. 

‘’Tcch, late again.’’ she sighed, hands absently fiddling with an ornate bell resting in her hair.

‘’I asked you if you had any prior engagements, captain.’’

The cat jumped as claws instinctively flexed in presence of the sudden voice, though her hostility receded when she saw who it belonged to.

At the same time, if anyone how didn’t know him saw the colossal towering before them in the dead of night, their reaction would have been much different. The shroud of night further complementing his features, general Giffca stood calmly in front of his junior, face etched in its usual passive crease. Lethe could smell the faint scent of bandit blood on his paws, no doubt from the recent rampage she had seen the lion do.

‘’O-Oh! I-It is nothing, master Giffca. Pay it no mind.’’ she resolutely assured, the cat’s professionalism still strong even after the war. ‘’Though, one has to wonder how stupid these humans must be to throw away their lives after they just returned from being statues. I wish we could have picked who to unpetrify.’’ 

The general gave a bit of a chuckle at the woman’s scowling face. ‘’If you do something for so long, it is hard to break the habit. Bandits will be bandits, as soldiers will be soldiers. It is in our nature. Anyways, why are you in such a rush, captain? Not that I’m complaining, but it seems as though you’ve spent less time training in the last month or so.’’

Lethe grumbled a bit, embarrassed that her superior had noticed her slacking off. ‘’As I said, it is nothing. My sister has been rather... clingy as of late. After all the hardships she went through during the war, I feel the need to... er, pamper Lyre a tad, for lack of a better term.’’ She felt a touch of heat tingle her cheeks. Emotions are such a bother to associate with.

‘’Hmm, that is a perfectly valid reason, captain. She just returned from her raven friend’s wedding, I recall. Perhaps that is the reason you’ve were brooding during the weeks she was gone?’’

Lethe shirked her face away in embarrassment. She wasn’t lonely after Lyre’s departure or anything. She simply kinda, maybe missed seeing her sister’s smiling face...? Just felt a little cold not having Lyre’s presence in their house... She swiftly picked up her crumpled composure as she could practically feel the disgustingly childish look on her features.

‘E-Enough of this foolishness!’ 

‘’T-Those two are c-completely unrelated subjects, general Giffca! I-I simply had a case of the stomach flu a few weeks prior... yes. Stomach flu.’’ 

Giffca responded with a knowing laugh, making the cat growl angrily in shame. ‘’While I cannot recall the last time you’ve allowed yourself to let a flu affect you in anyway, I will accept that as the reason nonetheless.’’ 

Facing towards the new, goddessless, sky, Lethe simply watched as the king’s shadow soothed his blood in wake of the calming crepuscule of night. The lion was silent for a moment after that, eyes scanning the stars in an odd melancholy. Lethe quirked an eyebrow as she saw a rare look of annoyance cross his features.

‘’Perhaps your sister can petition the wolf queen to visit us sometime. I would very much like to fight with her again... Perhaps this time under fairer conditions...’’ a tiny frown directed at the sky.

Lethe passed a laugh after the cogs in her head finished spinning, Giffca trying his best to retain his composure at the mild ridicule. ‘’My, my, general. Are the rumours true? Do not tell me that you are actually bitter about your loss to the Hatari queen all that time ago?’’

‘’IT WAS A TIE.’’ the man resolutely argued. That was perhaps the only time Lethe had heard him raise his voice outside of battle, though he quickly caught himself. ‘’Ahem, I-I mean, while the battle ended in her favour, his majesty stopped us much too early for there to be a clear cut victor... Never mind it, captain. You are dismissed and thank you for your efforts today.’’ he potently finished, clearly wanting to end the discussion before any more of his secrets came loose. Gods forbid someone found out what he really thought about the king. 

With a lingering smile and a bow, Lethe bid the general farewell and ran off into the forest, leaving lion to brood in peace. 

‘’...Blast it. How does one even obtain an evil eye? Perhaps I should invest in some evil sunglasses the next time she pulls that stunt.’’

 

The cool, fresh, forest air was invigorating as the orange cat raced back to her village. After her journeys to those stuffy beorc cities, she had to savour the calming scent of pine and the crisp crackling of leaves beneath her feet. Her eyes eventually drifted up towards that damning full moon, teeth gritting as her pace began to quicken. 

Due to her sister’s constant dotting, the fierce warrior was now under a very strict curfew. On a number of occasions, after working overtime, she would find her sister passed out near the door, well past the time she usually went to sleep, likely staying up to wait for the dutiful soldier. After a constant exchange of nagging and growls, Lethe agreed to be home by a certain time and Lyre agreed not to force herself to stay awake.

‘’Haa, what a handful, that child...’’ she sighed, eyes clouding in thought of her needy sibling.

The two was able to get a little closer during the war. The advice that raven had given her seemed to have worked like a charm. Lyre looked so happy when she fought alongside to her, practically beaming whenever Lethe had thanked or complemented her. Between the battles, she failed to suppress a smile when she saw her sister hum and purr as she took care of the younger cat’s wounds. She could swear that Lyre was actually enjoying the war, if not only using it as an excuse to spend time with her.

The smiles of yesterday imprinted themselves on Lethe’s face once again as a pleasant wave of nostalgia wafted through her mind. She truly was grateful for how improved their relationship was. She was able to appreciate the little things that a proud warrior such as herself was never allowed to bask in. The comfort of her little sister beside the cot, the sweet taste of food prepared with love, a hug just for the sake of touch. All things that she took for granted when they were younger and enjoyed immensely to experience once again.

‘...Bah, I’m getting soft.’ Her thoughts would often betray her at times. Such a high-ranking officer shouldn’t be fawning over the time they spent with their little sister like this. But there were instances where she wished to skip training the recruits in order to hang out with Lyre. Heck, once she even extended her break by an entire ten minutes to go window shopping with the girl. Her! Such absurdity! 

In her reverie, Lethe almost didn’t notice the rustling of foliage just in front of her. Battle instincts taking over, the cat swiftly snapped to attention as she hissed and prepared her body to transform. Did the bandits wait until she was secluded from the rest?

‘’Who’s there?! Show yoursel-’’

‘’L-LETHE!’’

The soldier’s eyes bulged when she saw her sister burst out of the bushes, body flushed from exhaustion and expression savage. She almost wished it was bandits instead.

‘’LETHE, YOU FREAKING IDIOT! This is the third time this week! I’ve been worried sick for the last couple of hours, you... stupid, dumb, jerk!’’ she meowed, looking absolutely fierce even as she was clad in her nightgown. 

‘’I-I, I... G-General Giffca petitioned for my assistance! I could not refuse! Besides, didn’t we also agree that you were to stop waiting for me?’’ she tried to argue, though the crack in her voice failed to broker any merit, evident by the unrelenting glare directed at her. 

Luckily, the cunning elder sister had a back up plan, though she had wished for a more casual and less embarrassing situation to present it. With a bit of a blush, Lethe conceded defeat as she fished her pockets for plan B. 

‘’...V-Very well, Lyre. I will admit that I am mostly to blame in this situation. B-But, a fraction of the additional time also was used to, err... obtain for you this gift... sister dearest.’’

In an instant, Lyre’s expression changed from furious anger to child-like awe when she was presented with the sight of her sister’s ‘excuse’. The familiar object seemed to be a carbon copy of the silver bell she had bought for Lethe before the war, the decals and craving forged with expert care and attention. She even noticed that scratches and scars on Lethe’s bell had been mirrored. The only thing different about the replica, was that the ribbon attaching it was a vibrant shade of sunset pink, rather than green. 

Lethe felt very uncomfortable at her sister’s continued silence, red continuing to spread across her face as the seconds tickled on. With a bit of a groan, she decided that Lyre was not going to talk until she did. 

‘’Y-You mentioned the other day that you wanted us to... match, y-yes? W-Well, happy birthday, Lyre. A-And thank you for putting up with my schedules.’’

‘’You, you... remembered?’’ the younger cat gasped, touched and astonished. Lethe didn’t even remember her own birthday some years. 

‘’O-Of course I did! You are my one and only sister, Lyre!’’ she miffed, a bit annoyed that her blood believed she was that cold-hearted.

Indignant to the heat on both their faces, Lethe skittishly brought the bell to her sister’s hair and began tying the the ornament into her curls, fingers slightly shaking as they intertwined with orange. 

‘’L-L-Lethe! Y-You-’’

‘’Q-Quiet! I will only partake in something so intimate once, so enjoy it while the lasts!’’

While a yelp and a sheepish nod, Lyre relaxed and allowed her sister to finish attaching the bell, eyes lowered and trained on her sister’s magenta ear. After more than a minute of awkward fumbling, Lethe completed the last knot and stepped back to admire her handiwork. Her heart raced a troublesome fraction harder as she drank in the lustre of the dazzling woman before her, the bell so beautifully complementing Lyre’s features as an adorably shy look crossed her sister’s face, eyes directed in every direction but Lethe’s.

She let out a content sigh. This was the peace and happiness they had both fought so hard for. ‘’It looks good on you, Lyre. Now, do you forgive me?’’ she charmingly breathed, getting a cute squeak from her sister. 

Lyre made a gingerly tap on the bell, eyes still in contact with Lethe, before breaking out in a little smile, deciding to hide her swooning face in her sister’s shoulder. ‘’Hmph. You screwed up so bad that you needed to buy me such an expensive gift to apologize, huh?’’ she giggled, Lethe squirming a bit at the fact that Lyre had read her so easily.

‘’Jokes, jokes. ‘Course I forgive you, sis. Best birthday present ever. Now come on. I can barely keep my eyes open, you dolt.’’

With an appreciative nod, Lethe smiled as she let her sister lead the two through the forest and back to their village, the younger sister practically skipping the way there as she fiddled with her new bell. They were silent for a little while, comfortable enough in each others presence as they enjoyed the calming sight of fireflies against the dense, dark-green canvas of trees. Coming back from war, it was hard to readjust to a life where you didn’t have to be constantly worried about enemies appearing out of nowhere, but just the relaxation and serenity of a continent at peace and a sister who she could be sisterly with was able to calm the warrior’s blood. That was until she noticed her sister occasionally sniffing the air.

‘’...So, did the bandits give you any trouble?’’ Lyre suddenly asked, eyes still directed forwards.

That ripped the calm from her. Stuttering a bit, Lethe scowled as she opened her mouth to throw a retort, though the younger sister’s infallible glare kept her in the dog house. 

This was the second promise the failure of an older sister had broken tonight. After the war, Lethe had convinced Lyre to quit the army under the premise that the captain’s peacetime duties were much less dangerous than that of a few months prior. Lethe had assured her overly concerned sister that she wasn’t to put herself in harm’s way again. 

Unfortunately, today, she yet the chance to clean herself of bandit blood after the recent skirmish and gauging from the repulsed and disappointed wiggle of her sister’s nose, the soldier was stinking up a storm of blood, violence, and most of all, shame.

‘’I-I, t-there was no...urgh...’’ There was no weaselling herself out of this one. Trying her best to avoid Lyre’s incriminating eyes, Lethe continued onwards as she wracked her head for solutions. ‘’They... They were nothing, sister, petty thugs who ran with their non-existent tails between their legs at first sight of a little blood or flash of claws. I didn’t get a scratch, so please do not-’’

‘’Like I give a damn if they put up a fight, Lethe!’’ the cat loudly fumed, causing her sister to shrink up. ‘’You promised me that you wouldn’t be putting yourself in danger, and here you are, up against bandits in the middle of night! If ‘d had known this, I never would have quit the-, O-Ouch!’’

Like a twig against a gale, Lyre suddenly found herself falling to the ground as her leg abruptly gave away, face animated in pain as she clutched at a noticeable sprain at her heel. 

‘’Lyre!’’ The elder sister was over to her side in an instant, though Lyre simply nudged her away as she began to force herself upright with little success. 

‘’I-I’m fine, Lethe!’’ she gritted, though her tone betrayed her. ‘’I-It’s just a little bump I got when I fell down along the way. I don’t need you to cradle me!’’

Lethe sharply inhaled at the sight. She had noticed that Lyre had been walking rather oddly on their way back. Poor thing was probably suppressing the wound for the entire time. A myriad of shameful emotions trashed in her head in the wake of this pain that she had caused for her little sister. With a resolved shake of the head, Lethe muscled her way through the protests before taking her sister’s tiny frame and placing it upon her back. 

‘’W-W-Wha- L-Lethe!’’ she cried, heat fogging up her face as she squirmed around in the piggyback. ‘’W-What is this-’’

‘’I’m sorry, Lyre.’’

‘’...huh?’’

Lethe’s own face burnt a bit as she tried to form the embarrassing words. ‘’I-I... I know that you are a capable fighter. I know that these battles put me in danger. I know that I am a terrible sister, b-but... I do not wish to see yourself in danger, Lyre.’’ The cat scowled as her voice began to waver. 

‘’I-I want to be your big sister first and a soldier second, truly! But it’s just... so difficult at times. How can I protect you and this land if I don’t fight? Every time a see a bandit in Gallia, I can’t help but to think what would happen if he somehow found his way to you, Lyre, if he managed to... I-I just... forgive me.’’

The air was silent between the two as Lethe mind cursed her weakness, letting the gentle chirps of the forest fill in the space. The weight of her sister felt leagues heavier on her back, legs only supported by stubbornness. 

‘Why, why must I screw up at every turn?! Pathetic, weak! You are not deserving of a sister, not deserving of love...’ she mentally screeched as she forced the tears to stay with the confides of her eyes. Part of her wished Ashera would allow her to join in the dead gods’ slumber.

But, if nothing else, tiny fingers held her back from the void, trembling as they slowly wrapped around Lethe’s shoulders with a shudder.

‘’L-Ly-’’

‘’Always keep a vulnerary on you.’’

‘’...W-Wha-’’

The fingers gripped tighter. ‘’K-Keep notice of how much time you have before you transform. Make sure you always have a spare laguz stone. W-Watch out for m-mages...sniff...E-Eat a b-big breakfast...sniff...I-I’m sorry, sis!’’

The elder sister’s lips flapped open in worry, but Lyre’s words didn’t stop there.

‘’I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I know you want to protect me, I know you love me, I know I’m making the same crappy excuses that you were, but I worry about you too! E-Every time you’re late, m-my mind just... it scares me, Lethe... I-I can’t lose you either...’’ 

Lethe squeaked a bit as she felt hot breath drape her hair and tears drip into her skin. Her heart began to beat much too fast.

‘’But... I won’t come in-between your duties anymore. I’ll swallow my pride and let you do what you’re proud of...’’ A hand touched down on Lethe’s chest.

‘’J-Just... be careful. I... M-Mordecai will be sad if his old partner pushed up daisies before him, a-among other people...Lethe?’’

Flinching, the elder caught herself in a panic when she realized that tears were dripping down her eyes.

‘W-What is this?! I-I’ve never...’

Madly wiping away the signs of her weakness, Lethe forced her composure to return as she made slow steps back towards their village, small gasps leaving her breath as she tried to form words. Lyre simply waited for her.

‘’S-Sister... t-thank you, for putting up with you failure of an older sister. I swear upon my honour as a warrior that I will return to you safe at the setting of every moon. I swear I will fight with caution in my step, if only to appease you. T-Thank you, Lyre, for worrying about me...’’

Lyre gave out a tiny giggle her sister’s storybook lines, which Lethe strongly reacted to. 

‘’Hehe, my hero. Thanks sis, for worrying about me too. N-Now enough of the touchy-feely, Lethe! Take me home...’’ she purred softly into the soldier back, both of their hearts beating in unison as their emotions and wishes clicked together at last. Lethe complied.

 

Thankfully, the rest of their trip was free of soul-searching angst, as the two sisters found conversation in more mundane matters, letting their hair down as the stars continued to light up their path.

‘’I mean, I can’t believe that captain Ranulf left with that blue-haired guy! Them and that weird mage on some stuuuupid journey! I never even got a chance to tell him my feelings!’’ the younger cat whined, Lethe listening casually with a smile.

‘’Hah, the fool barely gave the king a warning when Ike came to pick him up. The whole assembly was in chaos. Hmm, though I never thought of Ranulf being of that preference. I wonder just how loose those rumours about the Ike and his tactician are...’’

Lyre spewed into the open air. ‘’W-WHAT?! T-The captain i-isn’t like that! H-He wouldn’t... o-on a journey with two other guys... G-GROSS! CAPTAIN, NOOO!’’ 

Lethe snickered sinisterly at her sister’s troubles. ‘’I’m sure the three of them are having quite the little adventure right about now, exploring... caves.’’

‘’EW, LETHE, SHUT IT! THAT’S DISGUSTING!’’ the cat screamed as she pummelled her sister with angry fists, the elder giggling gleefully.

‘’Ha, please sister! It’s just a joke! And mind yourself when speaking so distastefully of those kinds of relationships. Your raven friend is of the same ilk, is she not?’’

‘’Ahh, Vika... b-but two guys is weird! Two girls is a lot more... u-uhh...’’ Lyre suddenly felt extremely aware of her Lethe’s skin on her own.

‘’Oh, it seems miss Vika had a greater influence than I thought. Perhaps you aren’t so much jealous of Ike than you are of Nailah, hmm, sister dearest?’’ 

Face blaring, the younger cat squeaked before resuming her assault on the poor soldier back, Lethe playfully swatting her with her tail as they began a jubilant battle of balance. 

‘’Meanie, jerk, horrible sister...’’ Lyre whined as the two cooled down, mumbling softly into her sister’s hair. She tried her best not to be to enraptured by Lethe’s scent.

‘’I ever so apologize, sister dearest. I will allow you to slip into such fantasies in peace.’’ she joked, getting a warning nibble on the shoulder as they laughed it off.

‘’...Do you remember this very situation from when we were children, Lyre?’’ the elder spoke after a short moment of silence.

Lyre stiffened and blushed a tad at the sudden question. ‘’Of... Of course I remember, you dolt. Hmm, sprained my ankle just like today and you had to carry me home, just like today.’’ she breathed, unconsciously smiling as the pleasant sensations from the past seeped into her mind. 

‘’Yes, while you cried slightly less this time, it just felt so nostalgic that I had to bring light to it... Have I ever told you how much I longed for this chance again, Lyre?’’ she whispered, feeling strangely bold.

‘’H-Huh?’’

‘’After I joined the army, we... we drifted apart, didn’t we? I could not be a true sister to you, and you began to act cold towards me.’’

Lyre’s hissed a guilty wince, but was surprised when Lethe reassured her with a gentle nuzzle. 

‘’It’s alright. I cannot blame you, as I acted unsavoury first. I’ve... missed just being sisters with you, more than you will ever know, Lyre, missed just talking to you, missed feeling your skin. T-Thank you, sister, for giving me back this chance.’’ voice like warm silk as she gazed on Lyre with adoration.

‘’...Bwahhh...’’

Lyre’s face started to heat up again, enough that it made her hair seemed white in comparison. Lethe looks so charming, so beautiful as she smiled up at the girl. Those long eyelashes gently flowing in the breeze, those deep, emerald eyes that bore into her soul, those chapped, yet plum lips, so unearthly inviting....

‘’...Meow!’’

‘’H-Huh? S-Sister?!’’

Swivelling her face away so violently that she almost fell off, Lyre mentally (and physically) squealed as she tried to squeeze the thoughts from her brain.

‘W-What the hell was that?! W-Why did I think that, w-why is my heart beating so fast?! O-Oh no, I am totally not like that! Totally not like that for my sister of all people! No, no, no...’

‘’Lyre! Your heartbeat is elevated! What’s the matter?!’’ she cried, bewildered by the sudden change.

‘’No, no,-... huh?’’

‘...S-She can feel my... Nooooo!’

Lyre’s eyes shrunk to pinpricks. Her body couldn’t take any more embarrassment. The last thing she saw was her arms flailing madly in her sister’s face before the world receded to darkness.

She blacked out.

 

Sadly, the darkness wasn’t that much more calming, since her mind decided to spite her and flash rather suggestive images of her sister against her will. Lyre tried her hardest to mentally shield herself from the tantalizingly taboo thoughts. Such thoughts had plagued her ever since Vika polluted her fragile mind with her teasing which, unbeknownst to the raven, actually had some merit, whether the cat wanted to admit it or not. 

‘No, sister... w-we can’t...i-it’s forbidden...’ she dreamt, consciousness far away in a haze of love. She felt Lethe’s airy fingers dance across the expense of her skin, her hot breath cascade between the crevasses of her ear. 

‘Lyre. Why won’t you submit, sister dearest?’ the tantalizing apparition sang. The dream Lethe seemed to be wearing nothing other than her bells and her eyes glazed over in steamy lust.

‘N-No...I’m not-, can’t...bwahhhh...’

She felt (or imagined) a warm finger dip slowly into her mouth, spinning and caressing her tender tongue. It made her unconscious senses explode.

‘Shhh...why do you lie to yourself, sister dearest? Why can’t you admit, say to me what you’ve wanted to ever since you hit puberty?’

‘Ghaaa...I-I...’

‘Yes, good girl. Give into your desires. Say it, Lyre, say that you- Wake up!’

‘Haa, I ‘wake up’...huh?’

 

‘’Sister, wake up!’’

Lyre’s eyes fluttered open, back into the conscious world. Her first sight was Lethe, the rational part of her mind relieved that she was now fully clothed. But, as her foggy senses began to clear, she became aware of the feeling of sheets beneath their bodies, something rigid still in her mouth, and the close proximity of Lethe’s face, her handsome, soft, face...

She caught herself just before her face was going to drift forwards, eyes spinning as she flew backwards, colliding with her bedpost. In a fit of blushing and stuttering, she spat out the intrusion in her mouth, finding a thermometer, before her rigid eyes did a quick scan of her surroundings. She was in her room, the place void of light, save for the barrage of pristine moonlight that flowed into through the window. Her body was nestled comfortably in her sheets as Lethe watched over her, a worried frown on her moonlit face. 

‘’W-Wah! L-Lethe?! Where are we?! S-Stop being so close!’’

Startled, the elder sister swiftly removed her face from her sister’s, almost falling off the bed in process.

‘’I...I-I apologize sister. You passed out in the woods and I had to carry you back to the house. I was worried sick!’’

Lyre sharply hissed when she recalled the events leading up to her unconsciousness, unable to meet her sister’s gaze and shrinking up into her blanket.

‘Oh gods, I can’t believe I was so embarrassed that I passed out! This needs to stop!’

Lethe sighed when she realized that her sister wasn’t going to elaborate on her condition, deciding to take matters into her own hands.

‘’Here, Lyre.’’ the soldier said, picking up a bowl and scooping some whitish goop in a spoon. ‘’I made some oatmeal. I-I was not sure about the length of your injuries and mixed a number of remedials in, so I apologize about the taste in advance.’’ 

Motioning the spoonful of food towards Lyre’s mouth, the younger sister blushed at the demeaning offer. 

‘’L-Lethe! I-I can eat it myself!’’

But the dotting elder would not have any of it, shaking her head sternly as she pushed the spoon closer.

‘’Hush, sister. Do not let my rare cooking and hospitality go to waste and be a good girl.’’

Lyre lowly whined. She forgot that Lethe could suppress her usually reservation when she was in big sister mode.

With a shy whimper, the cat succumbed to the wishes of her caretaker, shakily opening her mouth. She heard Lethe snicker slightly before the warm mush dipped in-between her teeth and onto her tongue. It wasn’t as bad as her sister had made it seem, having a natural taste of herbs and grain that was pleasantly complimented by hints of honey and berries. She let the sweet mixture dance around her tongue for a while longer before swallowing, opening her mouth for another bite. Her tongue was left dangling in the air for a while before she realized the food was not coming, and that her sister was holding in a bout of laughter.

‘’W-Wha- Sis?! W-What’s so funny?!’’

The elder took a second to calm herself before facing her sister, an occasional giggle on her breath. 

‘’M-My apologies, sister. You, hehe, y-you looked rather humorous with your tongue out, like a mewing kitten.’’ 

She felt her face heat up once again, eyes widening in humiliation and anger.

‘’Y-you, you, y-you’re the worst! A-And your oatmeal sucks too!’’ 

Lethe purred in amusement, even in face of the numerous pillows tossed at her way, before finally scooping up another spoonful. ‘’My my, but you seemed to enjoy it. Ha, but I will cease my teasing if it appeases you. Forgive me?’’ she said with sweet grin.

Face still flushed and demeanour still sour, Lyre didn’t even give a nod, deciding to open mouth, the gesture the only forgiveness Lethe would get. With a snicker, the elder sister complied and resumed feeding the hungry little cat, Lyre’s mouth moving mechanically as she ate the midnight snack.

‘...Lethe sure sounds cute when she giggles...’

After the oatmeal was finished, Lethe set the bowl aside before handing her sister a glass of water, deciding not to feed her this time as she brushed a few strands of hair away from Lyre’s eyes. 

‘’Feeling better?’’ she hummed, hand absently stroking the younger cat’s curls.

Shuddering slightly from the affectionate contact, Lyre managed the smallest of nods as she slowly gulped down the cool water. By the time she was finished, Lethe was still petting her hair, eyes glazed over in contemplation as she stared down on her sister. It made Lyre feel rather uncomfortable.

‘’S-Sis?’’

Snapping out of her revery, Lethe lightly blushed at the attention, letting out a audible, stressed, sigh.

‘’You have suffered much tonight because of irresponsibility, sister. I even feel that I’m somewhat at fault for your fainting spell.’’ she moaned, guilt crumpling her features.

Lyre twitched and shook her head violently, even though that last bit held some water. ‘’N-No! Sis! I-I said it was fine! You’ve done more than enough! I-I should actually be thanking you!’’

Lethe paused in incredibility, eyes glittering before she allowed a gentle smile to pass through her lips and continuing to stroke waves of orange. 

‘’You are too kind. Hmm, I am blessed by the gods, both dead and alive, to have such a lovely sister such as you. Thank you... Lyre.’’ 

The younger cat let out an entranced breath, eyes glued on the moonlit serenity of her older sister. Her heart beat wildly in her chest. Lethe, on her part, eventually noticed the look she was receiving, blushing as she got up from the bed. 

‘’E-Err, but allow me to get out of your hair, figuratively and literally.’’ she joked, pulling her hand away from the cat’s head. ‘’You focus on getting some rest. Good night, sister.’’ With a wave, she started to head for the door.

‘’A-Ahh, L-Le...’’

Something strong bubbled up in Lyre, causing her to dart out her hand and clamp it around Lethe’s wrist. She didn’t even know she did it until her older sister’s confused stare was upon her.

‘...C-CRAP, WHAT THE HELL, ME?!’

‘’A-AHH, I-I, U-UMM...’’ Her cheeks were melting. There was no going back now.

‘’L-Lethe! U-Uhh, w-would, you! You! S-S-S... s-sleep with me?!’’ she squeaked, fidgeting wildly in her sheets. ‘’I-I-It’s k-kinda cold tonight, a-and I’m sick, right! Ha-ha...hehe...gulp.’’

Lethe took some time to process the strange request, cheeks flaring when words managed to reach her brain. Lyre couldn’t tell if the sweat on her sister’s wrist was her’s or Lethe’s own. 

‘’If... if that is what you wish for, I-I will abide.’’

‘’...Huh?’’

Lyre couldn’t believe she agreed. She still couldn’t believe it until Lethe was snug in the space next to her, eyes twitching expectingly as she stared at her slack-jawed younger sister. 

‘’O-Oh! T-Thanks! Sis! I-I f-feel better alreadly!’’ she sputtered in a daze.

‘’Y-You’re welcome!’’ Lethe returned, equally nervous. 

‘’Thanks!’’

‘’Y-Yes!’’

‘’Ha...’’

‘’Heheheh...’’

‘’...’’

‘’...’’

It was silent as the two sisters stared at each other, red-faced and sweating in the fluffy bed. That was until the madness of the moment got to them, each cracking tiny smiles before blowing into full blow laughter. Hearing, feeling the presence and jingle of her older sister next to her, brought a great warmness to her heart, which only added to her mirth. They let the moonlight absorb the sounds of their laughter until they were satisfied, lying comfy and tranquil as they stared at the ceiling above.

Lyre felt a complete peace slink through her entire body, like she was adrift on the clouds, not a care in the world. It cooled her blood and soul as serenity washed over her. That was until she felt her sister’s arm slink around her shoulder, heat bringing about heat. She could also feel the presence of her chest rub against her own.

‘’L-Lethe?!’’

‘’You... you mentioned something about being cold, yes?’’ the elder muttered as her eyes shifted around the room, nervous. ‘’This will warm you up, l-like when we were... I-I will only partake in something so intimate... twice, s-so enjoy it while it lasts!’’

Mind muddled, Lyre could only nod slowly, body twitchy as it collapsed into her sister’s hold. She shuddered as she heard Lethe squeak at the contact of each other’s skin, biting down a squeal of her own. She should have removed herself after only the briefest of moments, casually laughing off her request as merely a joke. 

This was clearly not the case, and Lyre could tell the second she was wrapped in those strong arms. Those arms took her back to her childhood, rusted memories of yesterdays past blossoming fresh and vivid. They also took her back into her fantasies, eyes drooping as she revisited the images and scenarios she would dream when waiting for Lethe to come home from war. Dreams of simply spending time with her beloved sister, dreams of the two laughing and playing with each other like they used to, and dreams that kept her company on certain lonely nights, dreams that no matter how much she wished to deny them, she still dreamt. 

‘’...Lyre?’’ the older sister asked, voice light as the evening breeze. Lyre only gave a distant hum in response, still lost in her fantasies. 

‘’Lyre...I...always stay be my side, alright?’’ the soldier croaked, snapping the younger sister to attention.

‘’H-Huh? Lethe, w-what is this-’’

‘’Argh, no! That is not-, e-er...this is difficult.’’ she groaned, a hand lifting to her face as she tried to hide her embarrassment. ‘’I... I know it is pitiful, but sometimes I feel as if you might leave me, whether it be in death or not.’’

Lyre’s eyes widened at the absurdity. She wasn’t going to leave her sister through death and she certainly wasn’t going to do it of her own free will. ‘’Lethe, what is this?! That’s no way I would!’’

The soldier’s hands angrily scuffled her hair. ‘’Argh, I know, I know, it is foolish, but... I cannot help but to worry. As you know, I’ve been terrible to you, sister. Once I’ve driven you away in the past and I’m afraid of making the same mistake, this time permanently.’’

The retort she was preparing died in her mouth when Lyre suddenly felt Lethe’s other arm roughy take hold of her shoulder, eyes bright, yet uneasy.

‘’I will try my best to please you, sister. This time, I truly mean it. Never doubt that I’m thinking about your best interests, a-and never doubt that... I-I love you.’’

Before Lyre could even process it, Lethe’s lips darted forwards and planted a kiss on her forehead, before swiftly retreating her face into the covers, her cherry-red blush still evident on the tips of her ears.

‘’...Thrice. Good night, sister.’’

Leaving it at that, Lethe shut her mouth and retired into the world of dreams, unable to stomach the shame of any more words. Poor Lyre, on the other hand, laid rigid for a short eternity, face scarlet and eyes trembling well after Lethe had gone to sleep. 

‘...Wha...Bah...Guh...L-LETHE, YOU JERRRRRRRK! W-W-What was that?!...’

The middle of her forehead still burned with a scorching intensity where those lips had planted down. She stayed in her fit for a couple more rounds of moonlight until the angst sizzled out of her, droopy eyes returning to that familiar face. She hissed under her breath as her face rekindled at the mere sight of Lethe, the covers long slid off her face. 

‘’...stupid Lethe...’’ she meowed as she silently observed the sleeping face. She hated how refreshed her sister looked, sleeping like a baby, without a care in the world. 

‘So beautiful...’

Her body began to stir involuntarily, moving slowly towards her sister. Both hands found their way around Lethe’s head as they cradled the face towards Lyre’s view, one of her legs dipped and over one of Lethe’s. Her breath ran ragged as she felt the heat radiating off Lethe’s body, as the scent of her musk caressed her nose. A thick haze seemed to cloud her mind, stronger than the most pungent incense, hotter than the midsummer day. Something snapped.

‘’...You really are a terrible sister, Lethe.’’

Her open mouth moved closer in.

‘’You leave me for months, then come back with nothing but an apology and a crappy gift.’’

She took a deep whiff of Lethe’s neck.

‘’I should hate you, hit your stupid mug as soon as I see you...but I don’t.’’

Her heartbeat pumped harder as the scent involved old memories.

‘’Whenever I see your face, I’m happy. Whenever you smile at me, I’m ecstatic. Whenever you touch me, say that you love me, hah, I’m... confused.’’

She pressed her chest up against Lethe’s, face dangerously close.

‘’Nggaaaa...It makes me feel so weird, sis. Happy at the tingling in my heart, flustered at my thoughts, sad that the blood that makes us sisters, is also a curse.’’

Tears started to pool at her eyes. Her mouth was half a finger-length's away from her sister’s. 

‘’I’m...I’m scared, Lethe... what I feel for you is so beautiful, yet so vile. Having you as a sister should be enough...Why am I so selfish...Why are you so lovely...so...’’

‘Looks like you were right, Vika...’

With a moan, she gave in. She felt a pair of slightly cracked lips. She felt a warm tongue. She felt her heart stop. She felt wrong. She felt right. She felt disgusted. She felt overjoyed. She felt release.

She felt her mind slip.

 

The muffed sounds of birds chirping broke her out of the slumber. With a moan and a groan, Lyre swung her sticky body upwards, just to catch a bright ray of morning sunlight in her eyes. 

‘’Mmm, hmm? Morning?...’’

Still thoroughly out of it, the cat lazily rubbed a fist to her eye as she waited for the energy to return to her, slowly stretching her torso. She eventually noticed that she alone occupied the bed.

‘’Hmmmm, where’s Lethe? Where’s...sis... Wait.’’

Her eyes suddenly snapped to attention. She did something last night, didn’t she? Something very, very bad. Putting a hand to her mouth, so felt a copious amount of dried drool around her lips, blood freezing in their veins when the vivid images of her taboo thundered at her brain.

‘’I-I-I-I-I, SHIT! HOLY CRAP, I k-kissed...’’

Grabbing the nearest pillow, Lyre screamed her surprise into the cushion, downs barely able to suppress the swearing. Little droplets of wetness formed at her eyes as she clutched the pillow to her chest, mind spinning.

‘Oh gods, I really did it. I’m totally in love with Lethe...’

She caught herself instantly, furiously shaking her head in helpless denial. 

‘’NO! N-No, erm. W-We’re sisters! Y-You can’t love your sister i-in that way, silly Lyre, haha...’’ she tried to rationalize, but the savage beating in her heart stood testament to her severe doubts. Blocking the sound out of her mind, Lyre catapulted up with an icy fire in her step, pools of nervous sweat dripping down her forehead as she headed out of her room.. 

‘’I-I gotta find Lethe! T-This is all just a misunderstanding! I’m sorry sis, don’t hate me...’’

Lyre swung open the door and raced through the house in a desperate search for her sister, finding Lethe’s bedroom and the living room were both void of the soldier. It was only until she entered the kitchen that she saw some movement, despite it only being smoke rising from a wooden plate. She could smell the food well before she reached it, a somewhat burnt piece of deer meat with a side of vegetables on the side. More peculiar was a note place under the dish.

‘’Huh? What’s...’’

 

_Sister,_

_I’ve left early today to help prepare the training dummies for the new recruits. They’re making impressive progress, given how pathetic the mewing pups were just a few weeks prior._

 

Lyre giggled offhand, panic forgotten for a moment. She enjoyed hearing Lethe’s overly harsh opinions on her fellow soldiers. It was amusing and made her feel a bit better about herself.

 

_I’ve also prepared a quick breakfast for you. Forgive me, but it seems I may have mildly burnt the deer meat. Old man Seshen from next door was having trouble with some firewood, and the meat was overcooked by the time I finished helping him. I hope your fragile pallet can handle it._

 

She snorted a bit as she picked up and bit a piece out of the meat. She hated her meat well done and Lethe knew it. She supposed the spices made it somewhat edible.

‘’Hmph, jerk.’’

 

_When I return later tonight, let us go shopping in the capital, Lyre. Dinner will be on me as an apology for burning your breakfast and I would very much like to spend a night out with you._

_Have a good day,_

_Lethe_

 

A bit of heat ran to her face at mere thought of the words. Lethe seldom ever wrote her notes with this much detail, and the slight intimacy caused her heart to pound, especially with the burden of what she did on her mind. She then noticed a slight bit of ink on the back of the parchment.

 

_P.S: Remember what I said last night, sister dearest._

 

‘’What she said...’’

 

_‘’Never doubt that I love you.’’_

 

Her blush burned a dozen times brighter. The meat in her hand dropped forgotten on the table, mind whirling. All she could hear for a moment, was the heavy beating of her heart.

‘’...hehe...haha...Hahaha! Sniff.’’

In a flare of emotions, Lyre laughed and cried simultaneously, happy and mirthful tears dripping down her cheeks as she clutched at her stomach and the note. She understood.

‘’Sniff, oh sis! You know just what to say, don’t you!’’ she grinned, the weight completely off her mind as their house echoed with the booming of the cat. ‘’...I won’t. I love you, Lethe.’’ eyes glistening with dew and warmth.

With a content sigh, the younger sister plopped down into her chair, wiped the remaining tears from her eyes, and resumed her meal of burnt meat and cold vegetables, not a care in the world, and anticipation buzzing for the next time she could see her beloved sister again.

The sun felt brighter that day.

 

Lethe gave a hefty moan as she strolled through dense foliage of the forest. She had taken a detour on her way to work today and was taking sometime to enjoy the sights of the wilderness, also hoping to try and remove the heat that burned on her face ever since midnight, yesterday.

‘’...Shesh, so she really was of that preference. How shameful of her to deny it.’’ she breezed, hands jammed and wriggling about in her pockets. ‘’Didn’t think she would go that far...’’ Though she failed to stop a goofy smile from forming on her lips, dazzling eyes rising up to greet the new dawn. It felt brighter than usual. 

‘’...Good thing we have a century or two to see how things go, eh Lyre? Ha, such a handful that one.’’


End file.
